Two Little Birds
by fluffykitty12
Summary: What if Richard wasn't an only child when his parents died? What if he had a younger sister as well? Scarlet Grayson is younger than her brother, but adventureous, funny, and suddenly finds herself living with the billioniare Bruce Wayne. A series of how she finds out about Batman and Robin and how, though they aren't perfect, they're a family. Awesome cover by DreamweaverAki.
1. Found

"Batman, we need you. Two kids... I'll explain it when you get here."

Bruce nodded, slipping into the batmobile and heading to the address he'd been told by Commissioner Gordon. He assumed unruly children were causing trouble, or perhaps trapped in a burning building.

So he was more than a little surprised to pull up and find the boy he'd been searching for since last night in the tree with a small girl clinging to him.

He knew the boy's last name- Grayson. That was all he knew, besides the fact he was investigating the murder of the boy's entire family, and the boy had run off last night, that fateful night...

"Commissioner Gordon. I assume there's trouble with this for some reason?"

Commissioner Gordon nodded. "Yes. The kids' parents were murdered last night, the boy refuses to get down, and we din't have a ladder truck that can reach that high. They just might fall, too, it's windy."

"We don't fall! We's acrobats!" the little girl, who was about four, yelled through her tears.

"Get down, both of you! Do you want to kill your sister, boy?" asked a gruff officer.

"No!" the boy yelled down. He, too, was crying, but he and his sister held one another tightly, the cold wind whipped past, and the tears continued ti roll down their faces.

"Don't you want to get down, girl?" asked commissioner Gordon, voice gentler.

The girl, who couldn't have been more than four, shook her head. "I stay with Robin!" she cried.

"I'll have to come up and get you two, then." Batman said, moving to climb.

"Don't! You do and I'll... I'll jump." the boy said, and batman froze, The drop was easily thirty feet, into rough ground, it would no doubt either seriously injure both children if it didn't kill them...

He saw both children's nerves were shattered, eyes hollow with grief, and realized it had driven the boy to such desperate measures.

"Why would you do that?" Batman asked, trying to remain calm...

"Because... we won't come down." Robin said quietly. The wind blew, and he held his sister all the tighter.

"Why not? We won't hurt you. What do you have to be afraid of?" Batman asked, truly curious now.

"You'll take Sparrow away." The boy whispered.

"Kid,you can keep your bird, just come down." the gruff cop said, rolling his eyes.

"She's not a bird!" Robin yelled. "She's my sister!"

Batman was silent for a moment, looking at the two children. The boy called Robin and the girl called Sparrow... Such odd names, but they were clearly desperate and scared...

"I promise you'll stay together if you come down." Batman said, He'd already determined the fact that he wanted to adopt these children- they deserved a good home, after all they'd been through.

The boy gently set his sister on the branch beside him, and everyone let out an audible gasp.

"Pick her up, boy, you'll kill her!" the gruff cop demanded, but Robin didn't listen, instead bending down to brush the tears from her face.

"Remember what Mami said. Every moment of our lives is a show- we have to try our best."

The girl nodded, and they both jumped.

Batman was compelled to use his grappling hook to grab them, but they were falling too fast, and they acted completely calm...

The girl landed on a branch and vaulted off it with her momentum like it was a spring, front flipping onto the next branch, while the boy stayed well below her, backflipping onto each branch. They each dismounted with grace, the boy landing easily in a squatting position and the girl on her feet, both looking completely at ease. They'd flipped down the tree as easily as if they'd walked down a staircase, and everyone simply gaped for a moment.

"Mami would be proud." Robin whispered, putting his arm around his sister.

And suddenly, the gruff cop pulled he siblings apart, dragging Robin towards the police cruiser. "Commissioner, the orphanage is full, they can barely take the girl, he'll have to go to a detention facility..."

"No!" the boy yelled, eyes suddenly wide with fear. "Kulath, Sparrow, Kulath!" (run, Sparrow, run!)

The girl shook her head rapidly, and suddenly an anguished cry escaped her and she lunged forward with the speed of a cheetah, punching a man who tried to block her way and darting towards the cop who had Robin, eyes wide with fear.

"Bar! Bar!" she cried in romani. (Brother, brother!)

Robin saw the desperate look in her eyes and moved, sweeping the legs out from the police man who held him with and iron grip and shoving the other away, running to his sister...

They stood, back to back, each n a defensive stance and each with eyes wild from fear.

"No one separates us." Robin said firmly, panting.

Someone tried to sneak up behind Sparrow, but she backflipped behind him and swept his legs out, as well. What she lacked in strength she made up for in agility, Batman realized, and she returned her stance beside Robin.

"Look, kid, the can take your sister in in an orphanage, where she'll have a bed and food and a place to sleep. You have to go somewhere else for a little while..." Commissioner Gorden said. It nearly broke his heart to see these children so desperate...

Batman stepped forward, whispering quietly to Robin.

"I swear I'll find both of you and bring you back together. I have a friend who loves children I'm sure he'll take you both, alright?"

"Promise?" Robin asked warily.

"You have my word." Batman agreed.

Robin nodded, wiping again a tear and kneeling down to look into his sister's eyes. "Micul Sparrow, trebuie sa parte. Fii tare, ne vedem curând, promit. Te iubesc, fii puternic pentru mine, pasăre mică." (Little Sparrow, we have to part. Be strong, I'll see you soon, I promise. I love you, be strong for me, little bird.)

She buried her face in his chest, not speaking, but he knew she was trying her hardest to remember every detail of him, as he did her.

"I love you too." she whispered.

Robin turned to Batman, eyes imploring. "Watch out for her while I can't. Promise me."

"I promise."

And slowly, the children were taken different ways. Their gaze each lingered on the other, as though trying to remember every inch of their sibling, before the cars parted and the were gone.

It took him two weeks to adopt Robin from the juvenile detention facility, and the youth was more than a bit beat up by the other residents. He looked at Bruce with hope in his eyes.

"Sparrow?" he asked quietly.

"The papers are going through, Robin- I mean, Richard- we'll have her soon, I promise."

The boy nodded, eyes dull from exhaustion and grief. They widened when he saw the large mansion, but he remained quiet and downcast throughout the tour. Batman knew the splendor did nothing to ease his mind from his sister, who he still hadn't seen. Maybe he could distract him enough make him smile, just once.

"So, Richard- why do you and your sister call one another Sparrow and Robin?"

Robin cleared his throat. "You can call me Dick, Mr. Wayne. My parents- they loved to fly on the trapeze, they wanted us to love it as well, so they nicknamed us after birds."

Bruce nodded, enthralled by that. These children certainly weren't average, and Richard stayed quiet and a bit downcast fir the next three days, until Alfred arrived home with her...

"Sparrow!" Robin ran to her, and she to him, a smile Bruce had wished to see for so long lighting up both their faces as they hugged one another, Robin spinning her around and he laughing as he did so before he finally set her down.

Finally, the shock of the initial reunion wore off, and she gradually became aware of the splendor of the Wayne estate that surrounded her.

She'd been oblivious to the iron gates or beautiful trees and well tended lawn and gardens as they rode up in the black car driven by Alfred, but now that she was with her brother,she looked around with awe. She wore a faded blue shirt and equally faded jeans, no doubt some of the clothes she'd brought with her...

"We live here?" the four year old asked, shocked.

Bruce chuckled. "You do now. Both of you."

"Tree!" Sparrow shrieked, delighted, and raced towards the red maple, swinging up into t like a monkey, Richard close behind her. Soon they were swinging on the branches, holding true to the lineage of acrobats before them...

"They certainly will be a handful, Master Bruce." Alfred remarked, watching the two children shriek in delight as they pretended they were on trapezes and smiling for the first time either had seen in days.

"Yes, but they'll be worth it." Bruce remarked, grinning, not taking his eyes from the two children, kind, gentle children- that were now his.


	2. Bedtime

"So, how do you like your room, Scarlet?" Bruce asked, slightly surprised her read name, like Dick's, was so formal.

"It's pretty. Thanks, Mr. Bruce." she said looking around. The walls were pink- she hated pink- unless it was cotton candy, if course. There were posters of ballerinas and a dress up set, as well as a plastic chair and a miniature make-up table, with children's makeup, of course.

She disliked nearly everything about it, but she didn't say so to Bruce, because he'd clearly tried very hard, and Mami had always said not to be rude...

Bruce beamed. "You're welcome, Scarlet. And please, call me Bruce.". H didn't see her wide eyes were hiding dislike and shock instead of admiration, and was quite pleased with himself. He'd thought going all-out princess was a good idea...

She nodded, still a bit shocked, and Bruce left her alone with the suitcase she'd been given full of her old things...

Dick entered a moment later and stared, aghast. "It's so... pink..." he said, and Scarlet nodded.

"Did you tell Bruce you liked it?" he asked, a bit nervous.

Scarlet nodded. "Yes, what was I supposed to do, Dick? He's already dine s much fir us, and Mami said to always be polite..."

Dick looked relieved and nodded. "You did good, Scar. Don't worry, I'm sure we can redecorate a little, and you only have to sleep in here at most..."

He looked over to see his sister's eyes full of tears. "What, Scar?" he asked, his own eyes filling and voice shaking...

"I miss Mami and Tati." she whispered, throwing herself into her brother's arms and quietly crying her heart out as Dick did the same. They were quiet- this pain, this sorrow- was too dee for a stranger to witness and to try and console, and Dick washed his and his sister's face before they went down to supper to hide the fact they'd been crying.

Bruce saw through this, of course, but knew better than to ask. They'd just lost their parents, of course, it was hard to deal with- they'd need time and attention to help them cope.

He sent them each off to bed after a quiet evening around eight and neither protested.

Scarlet wandered out a few minutes after she'd disappeared into her room, though, thumb in her mouth and holding a blue blanket.

"Are you going to tuck us in?" she asked quietly.

Bruce's eyes widened. He'd never thought about tucking them in...

"Scarlet, Bruce is busy..." Bruce looked over to see Dick standing behind his sister.

"Come on, I can do it..." the boy assured his sister, but Bruce noticed she looked disappointed.

"It's alright Dick, I just didn't think of it." Bruce stood, setting his book aside, and even Dick looked a bit happier at the notion.

Dick slipped up to his room waiting for his chance to be tucked in- maybe Bruce knew more about being a Dad than he let on. Besides, the youngest was always tucked in first...

"Goodnight, Scarlet." Bruce said, patting the pink blankets awkwardly and wondering what else a tucking-in entailed.

"Do you want me to check for monsters or anything?" he offered.

Scarlet shook her head. "Dickey already did. G'night, Bruce..."

"Goodnight, Scarlet." Bruce had to smile when the girl was asleep before he left the room. She looked so cute, thumb in her mouth, eyes closed... He quietly left the room, going to see his son next.

"Goodnight, Dick. Need me to check for monsters?" he asked, wondering if a boy of eight would need that.

"Nah, monsters aren't real. Scarlet is learning that, though. Why? You afraid of monsters?"

"No, Dick, I just wondered. Sleep well..."

"'Night." and so Bruce shut the door on his son and went to bed himself.

"Mami! Tati! No!" Scarlet thrashed under the covers, getting tangled in them. She woke up drenched in a cold sweat. She was so scared, and she remembered she was in Bruce's house now...

She needed someone, but she definitely didn't want to wake Bruce. He was a big man, and she didn't want to make him angry- he reminded her of the the strong man from the circus, who got very loud and mean when he was angry- and the butler talked funny...

She seized her blue blanket and ran down the hall to what she hoped was Dick's room, and was lucky- it was. He was awake as well, from an earlier nightmare, but he didn't tell her that, instead sitting up and throwing the covers aside, patting the mattress beside him.

She eagerly scurried up and nuzzled against her brother.

"Want to talk about it?" Dick asked quietly as she clung to him, still shaking.

"I saw them fall, Dickey. They just kept falling..." at that she broke down crying again, and Dick wrapped his arms around her until she calmed down and finally fell asleep, thumb in her mouth...

He'd dreaded sleeping alone, but of course he hadn't told Bruce that. In the circus, they'd all slept in one bed, him and Scarlet in the middle, and now, with the rhythm of Scarlet's breathing beside him, he slowly drifted off as well, nightmares gone with his sister beside him...

Bruce woke and went to check on his children, finding Scarlet wasn't in bed. He felt panic flutter in him and fought it. Why was he so scared? The girl couldn't have left the house, but still, the irrational fear for his little girl persisted. She could be lost, or scared...

If anyone knew where she was, it would be Dick, and he strode hurriedly to his son's room, opening the door and stopping at what he saw, face softening.

Scarlet must've crawled into bed with her brother curing the night, because they were both huddled under the blankets, Scarlet with her thumb in her mouth, curled snugly against Dick, and Dick with an arm slung protectively over her, both looking incredibly cute...

He couldn't bring himself to wake them, they looked so angelic, and he left for his office smiling, thinking of the two children back home.


	3. Party

Bruce eventually grew used to the children. He took to working from home when he could, so he could look out his office window and watch the two play in the yard. He knew he'd always be greeted by excited shouts of his name whenever he did come home from supper, which was a rare occasion, with all the things to be done as Batman and Bruce, but it happened, and the children always chattered excitedly about their day.

Contented to play with one another at the Wayne estate, the children didn't know the papers where going wild about them and rumors spreading like wildfire. One thing Bruce wondered, of course, was how the two children fit into Bruce Wayne's Playboy billionaire image.

The answer was, of course, that they didn't, and Bruce knew he was going to have to bring them to the party he hosted every fall in a few days, though he hated the idea of exposing them both to the raging media of Gothem city...

He briefed them to be good and polite to everyone, and to stay close to either him or Alfred, before they changed. Scarlet looked like a Kennedy in a ruffled white dress, while Dick came into his own in the nice suit he was wearing.

Soon they were mingling, and Bruce, to his relief, found both children behaving well, acting shy and Scarlet hiding behind Dick most of the time. Unfortunately, Clark, aka Superman, was there was a reporter friend.

"I expected you to come in circus clothes." he joked, eliciting an excited smile from both Scarlet and Dick.

"Can we Bruce- please? Just for five minutes?" Dick pleaded. Bruce was surprised with the request, they hadn't expressed any desire to perform since the accident, and he didn't want to expose them to the media frenzy that was soon to follow, but he nodded, seeing the desperate hope on their faces.

They each raced up to their rooms, leaving an unhappy looking Alfred and a surprised crowd of party-goers behind them.

Dick nodded when he saw his sister dressed in her old costume. "Good- remember the old act, the changes we put on it?"

She nodded. "I still get to do the arial, right Dickey?"

"Right." Dick powdered a thin layer of makeup on her face, and she did the same to him- Dick had gotten surprisingly good at applying cosmetics during his years in the circus.

"Now, they don't just want to talk to us, they want to be amazed. We need some flair, some pop to it, alright? Can ya think of anything unusual?"  
"We walk on the banisters of the stairs! Like a balance beam! And slide down!"

"Alright. And something dangerous... Knives! Remember what Mori taut us?" he asked, mentioning the knife thrower from the circus.

Scarlet nodded eagerly. "Good. Hang on..." Dick ran down to the kitchen and returned with the dullest, largest knives he could find.

"Keep it in your mouth, blade out, between your teeth, until after the arial, alright? And be real careful..."

She nodded, clamping the blade between her teeth, sharp side facing out, like Dick instructed. They'd done this a few times...

"Go talk to the DJ about music." Dick ordered. "He'll listen to you, you're cuter."

She nodded, peering back out to the party and thinking fast, turning to the DJ, knife hidden behind her back.

"Play something dangerous, please."

The man smiled and nodded, and she ducked back upstairs, putting the knife in it's place again and racing upstairs to her side of the banister just as the mission impossible theme started playing.

She jumped onto her side of the banister, which overlooked he top floor, Dick doing the same on the other side, and everyone watched them easily walk on the polished dark wood.

People smiled- they must've looked cute. Suddenly the music got faster and they each jumped, sliding down the banister on their feet, cat-like balance keeping them upright...

"What's in their mouths?" someone asked, and they all gasped when they realized there was a knife between each of their teeth.

Scarlet grinned at how afraid they seemed- she and Dick were perfectly safe.

As they reached the end of the banister at the bottom of the stairwell, they each vaulted into the air, flipping and landing perfectly.

Scarlet knew her part from here. Dick ran at her, and she dropped into a split at the last second as he front flipped over her, then backflipped, back over, and she did a kip-up to get to her feet and grinned.

Dick had their attention captured now, throwing himself into the air and spinning, doing a back handspring...

She noted the empty chair by the table and grinned, running over and nailing the handstand before jumping onto it, flipping onto one table...

Dick had worked his way back towards the end of the long table by now, and she moved agley, not stepping on a single dish of food and doing an arial over the punch bowl, going over Dick, who was now in an american split, before landing in a split herself, pulling the knife from between her teeth and throwing at the same time Dick did, so they landed right next to one another, embedded in the flower in the wallpaper.

Everyone was silent for a moment, amazed at the feat two children had just pulled off, before Clark burst into applause, and soon the entire ball room was filled with it...

Both their eyes were shining, and Dick got up from his split first, grabbing Scarlet's hand as she too jumped to her feet, equally pleased.

She knew what to do from here. They both bowed and raced back upstairs, and a few moments later were both downstairs, Scarlet again looking like a Kennedy in her dress and Dick in his suit.

They received many handshakes and another round of applause, and Bruce just stared.

He'd seen the children play outside, flipping around, but never something that dangerous- or impressive.

"Didya like it, Bruce?" Dick asked, eyes still shining, adrenalin still running.

"It was very nice. But the next time you use knives..." Bruce trailed off. Up until this point he'd never even had to threaten punishment before, and he decided he'd talk to them later. They looked too happy now, too alive...

"Where did you learn that, sweetie?" Bruce, somewhat to his dismay, found the ladies that had been fawning over him now fawning over Scarlet, who shrugged, tossing her ginger hair over her shoulder.

"We're from the circus." she said, as if that explained it all, before walking on the balls of her feet over to seize Bruce's hand, blushing and suddenly turning shy again. Bruce was reminded besides being an incredibly skilled acrobats, they were still children, and he allowed them to stay up a bit later until Scarlet started to nod off in his arms, where she'd decided to spend the remained of the party, and Bruce carried her upstairs and tucked her in while Alfred fetched Dick so Abruce could tuck him in, as well.

He looked down at them both and smiled. He'd talk to them in the morning about the dangerous performance they'd done with ease. They certainly knew how to be the life of a party.


	4. No Knives

**Hey guys,thanks for all the reviews! I don't want tofocus too much on Scarlet, but I don' want to totally cut her out and leave her alone. Anyways, any reviews would be great. Here's the next chapter!**

In the morning, both children were pleasantly surprised to find Bruce home and waiting for them and Alfred making pancakes.

"Hi Bruce." Scarlet said, climbing into her chair. Bruce had set a book on it so she could actually see over the table, and she grinned. Dick nodded cooly to his adoptive father, since he wasn't much of a morning person.

"Breakfast, you two." Alfred set a plate in front of each of them. Dick looked at the table, confused.

"Bruce, where are the knives?" he asked.

Bruce smiled slightly. "After your performance last night, I decided all knives are now out and safely away. If one of you had slipped and fallen, you could've been seriously hurt. Understand?"

Both children nodded, but Dick looked a bit confused as Scarlet poured syrup onto her pancakes.

"But Bruce, how do you cut pancakes without a knife?" he asked.

"Well, you could ask me to do it for you." Bruce said, serious, not looking up from his morning paper.

"Scarlet!" Alfred cried, and Bruce and Dick looked over to see the girl's hands and cheeks covered in syrup and bits of pancake, a half-eaten, syrup drenched pancake in her hands like a sandwich.

"No knives! Everything is finger food!" Scarlet declared, happy as ever, and Dick tried not to giggle but failed miserably at the sight of his sister covered in breakfast.

Even Bruce had to smile, though he tried to hide it, but the girl looked adorable...

"Tati said to be creative in life." Scarlet supplied, taking another bite.

"Yes, and Mami said Tati wasn't the one who had to clean up all the messes and that we should be creative outside." Dick said, and Bruce grinned. These two certainly kept him on his toes.

"Alfred, can you help Dick with his pancake while I clean Scarlet up?" Bruce asked, standing and looking at the sticky four year old and chuckling. It was amazing how his no knives punishment had backfired.

Alfred sighed. "Of course Master Bruce."

Bruce helped wash off Scarlet's face and hands, which stuck to practically everything, even trying his best to get the bits of it out of her hair.

"Feel less sticky, Sparrow?" he asked, using her nickname, still amused with the breakfast he'd spent with his children.

She nodded, giving him a warm, if not slightly sticky, hug. "Thanks Bruce. Dick, let's go play!" she said, hurrying out to find her brother.

"I haven't finished breakfast yet!" Dick protested.

"You would've if you'd used your hands!" Scarlet said, and Bruce had to grin at this. Yes, his kids certainly were one of a kind.


	5. The Flu

"Bruce?" Dick looked around the bat cave, shocked. How the heck was this under the Wayne estate? How had he not known about this sooner?

"Dick?" Bruce hurried over, wondering how to convince his son this had all been a dream...

"You-you're Batman!" Dick yelled, bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement and grinning. Suddenly all the late nights Bruce worked made sense...

Bruce quickly covered the boy's mouth. "Yes, I am, Dick. You have to promise to tell no one."

"But... What about Scarlet?" Dick asked, suddenly looking torn.

"Dick, if she knew it could put her in danger, she can't know about any of this."

Dick nodded. It'd been three months since he and Scarlet had come to live with Bruce, and he realized his adoptive father was Batman...

"Could I be your sidekick!?" Dick asked, still excited. "Do you have batarangs, an I see the Batmobile,what other gadgets do you have? Can I be your sidekick, please please please?"

Bruce blinked, shocked. He'd never seen the boy this excited, and it was a bit shocking...

"Dick, I need you to calm down for a minute. Now, you cannot be my sidekick, it's far too dangerous. Is Scarlet in bed?"

Dick nodded. "She said she doesn't feel good, she looks kinda sick, and she wanted me to come get you. I couldn't find Alfred..."

"Right here, Master Richard." Alfred stepped out of the shadows.

"Alfred, you knew about this?" Dick asked, shocked. The butler smiled and nodded slightly.

Bruce, meanwhile, was worried about Scarlet. The little girl was always running around, getting banged up and bruised and scraped, so she must really have been feeling sick to admit it.

He was also touched she'd asked for him specifically, not Alfred, who at times seemed to be better equipped to deal with children...

"Dick, stay here with Alfred. I'm going to see Scarlet." Bruce took the elevator upstairs and heard the silence, feeling the worry creep from the pit of his stomach at the absence of her giggles and the silence instead of the sound of little feet...

He gently pushed open the door of her room and saw her lying on the bed, whimpering quietly... Her face was pale, a thin layer of sweat covered her face and she was trembling slightly...

"B-bruce?" she asked, and he hurried to her bedside.

"I'm here, Sparrow. Are you alright?" he used her nickname, knowing she was needing it and the happy feelings it brought her...

She shook her head. "I... I don't feel good..." she started coughing, chest rattling as her small frame was wracked by the coughs...

She whimpered quietly and Bruce pressed his hand to her forehead,instincts taking over. She was definitely hot- far too hot to be comfortable.

"What hurts?" he asked, sitting down beside the bed and looking at her.

"My head and arms, everything, really. I'm cold and then hot, and my throat hurts..."

Bruce nodded. "Alright, hold on for a second. I'll get some medicine..."

He had no idea what he was doing, but he forced himself to remember what his parents did when he was sick. They took his temperature, gave him medicine, and made him soup...

He grabbed the thermometer from the medicine cabinet and a bottle of aspirin, looking at the dosage and putting the thermometer in her mouth before getting the pill and a glass of water.

She eyed it suspiciously, and the thermometer finally beeped. He took it from her and read it carefully. 102.4*F. Yes, she was definitely sick.

"Here, take this." he tried to hand her the pill, but she shook her head.

"Bruce... my throat really hurts. I don't want to swallow it whole, please..."

"I won't make you, it's alright..." he slipped downstairs and dropped it into a glass of cold juice, waiting until it dissolved before having her drink it.

"Is there anything you need?" he asked.

"I... I'm cold, Bruce..." she muttered.

She held out her arms, and Bruce reached over and wrapped her in the blankets on her bed, holding her against him carefully as she slowly stopped shivering and fell asleep. Bruce noticed the sweat on her face and gently took a wet cloth and wiped it away. He would call Dr. Leslie in the morning to come and look at her, but right now, he was with his little girl, and he held her gently and brushed the hair from her face.

Alfred took Dick upstairs and put him to bed, but Bruce stayed up with Scarlet throughout the night. She didn't wake up, but she slept on, fever slowly lessening to a steady one hundred.

"Master Bruce, you should rest." he started when he heard Alfred in the room.  
"No, Alfred, she asked for me, and I won't leave her alone when she's so sick." he paused and felt her forehead. "Call Dr. Leslie, will you? She's still running a fever."

Alfred nodded, knowing it was useless to argue with Bruce when he was like this, and he was also a bit concerned for Scarlet. He was also a bit proud that three months ago the man who had been wondering how to tuck two children into bed was now upstairs after staying up all night to care for his sick daughter.

Dick peered into the room, fear clearly written on is face. "Bruce?" he asked quietly.

Bruce looked up, surprised. "Yes, Dick?"

"Is she... is she going to die?" he whispered, tears rolling down his face.

"No, Dick, no..." Bruce shifted Scarlet to one hand and pulling Dick close to him with the other and rubbing circles on the boy's back. "She's just a little under the weather, she wasn't feeling good, is all. She's sleeping. Dr. Leslie is going to come see her today, she'll get better, I promise."

Dick nodded. "I... I'm sorry for crying..." he said, wiping his eyes.

"Shh... It's alright, you were worried. I'd let you stay with us, Dick, but I don't want you getting sick as well. Alfred is making breakfast, why don't you go see him. I promise she'll be better soon."

Dick nodded before leaving. Bruce thought quietly of how different this image was from the excited boy who'd figured out he was Batman last evening...

"Hello, Bruce. Now, whose my patient?" Dr. Leslie asked, pausing when he saw Scarlet. The doctor pulled out his thermometer as he spoke to Bruce.

"When did it start?" he asked, as Bruce gently roused her and had her put the thermometer under her tongue.

"Last night, She said she was feeling sick. She's been running a fever and she told me she's achey and is cold, plus a sore throat and cough."  
The thermometer beeped and Dr, Leslie read it, brow creasing.

"Set her down on the bed, will you, Bruce?"

Bruce nodded, and Scarlet stared at Dr. Leslie and blinked.

"Who are you?" she asked quietly.

"He's my friend, Sparrow, it's alright." Bruce smoothed her hair and she relaxed. Dr. Leslie listened to her breathing and looking in her nose and mouth, feeling her throat, before turning to Bruce.

"Looks like the flu, Bruce. I'm prescribing some medicine to help ease the symptoms. Keep her hydrated and let her rest." Dr. Leslie handed the prescription to Bruce, who nodded.

"Thanks." he nodded carefully to Dr. Leslie before Scarlet looked at him with those baby-blue eyes and he picked her up again...

"D-don't you have to work?" Scarlet asked after they were alone again.

"I can take the day off, don't worry..."

She nodded, and soon she was asleep again.

Bruce had already sent Alfred to pick up the medicine. He normally hated contact with other human beings, probably from all the ladies who were on his arm or clinging to him at the parties, but it was different with Scarlet. He felt comfortable, of course, but he was still a bit edgy. His Scarlet was sick right now, not feeling well, and he wished he could do something besides getting medicine to help her, but she seemed content to just lay in his arms...

He wasn't the perfect Dad, but he was trying...

Bruce noticed Dick had entered quietly, holding Scarlet's blue blanket. He gently set it down on top of her. Scarlet clung to it in her sleep, putting her thumb in her mouth...

"She'll be alright, Bruce?" Dick asked, still quiet and a bit afraid.

"She'll be fine, Dick." Bruce said quietly, ruffling the boy's hair. Dick smiled slightly, and peered down at his sister.

"So, what about Batman?" he asked quietly.

"Batman will come when he's needed." Bruce replied quickly. "And if he is needed, Alfred and you will still be here. Remember what I said. Batman works alone, and you're not to tell anyone."

Dick nodded quietly before he left them in the room.

"I see someone's feeling better." Alfred remarked, smiling when Bruce carried Scarlet downstairs two days later.

She nodded, arms still wrapped around Bruce's neck and looking a bit paler than usual. She certainly wasn't as bubbly or energetic as she normally was, but she gave Alfred a wane smile when he brought her a bowl of chicken soup.

By day four she was fine and back to acting her normal self, and Bruce was back to watching both his children from afar- wondering if Dick could keep his secret and if he could be a father that these children deserved.


	6. Robin

**Hey guys! This chapter is a little fluffy, but the next chapter has tons of actions! Thanks for all the reviews, and plz keep it up! Enjoy**

"Dick?" Bruce had checked the house and knew Bruce wasn't there, meaning he was in the bat cave. He heard heavy breathing and the sound of explosions as a reply.

"Dick!" he raced in on the training simulation. Dick had powered up a training robot and was fighting it, as it threw explosive disks and metallic punches, and Dick felt the same irrational fear that enveloped him when Scarlet did something dangerous...

There were robotic sensors on the robot, and Dick ducked a punch and managed to hit one, deactivating it. He spun under another arm, spin-kicking a sensor on the shoulder, then back flipping onto the robot's back, hitting the sensor on its face and continuing to kick the one on it's side, then the other side, and the robot powered down.

"Richard!"

Dick whirled to find Bruce watching him and grinned. "Yeah?"

"Richard, how could you do that!? You could've been seriously hurt!"

"Bruce..." Dick complained, but Bruce wouldn't hear of it...

"Dick, no. You are never to do that again. You could've been seriously hurt, or even killed!"

"Bruce, I don't care! You never let me help Batman! I want to help people!" Dick cried, and Bruce realized this was the first time he and his son had butt heads.

Bruce took a breath and counted to ten, ignoring Dick's fiery gaze locked in his. The boy thirsted for adventure, hungered fir a challenge, and Bruce knew if he didn't give in to letting the boy be his sidekick the boy would continue training on his own, possibly getting himself hurt or killed in the process...

He let out his breath and nodded. "Fine. You can be my sidekick. But if, and only if, you obey me to the letter when we're on patrol. And you don't go out in the field until I say you're ready."

Dick blinked, shocked. "Really? You'll tach me to throw batarangs and beat bad guys and defuse bombs and use grappling hooks..."

Bruce had a hunch this list was going to last forever, and he nodded. "I'll teach you everything I know, Dick. If you really want to, you can be my sidekick."

Before Bruce knew what had hit him, Dick wrapped his small arms around him in a hug. "Thanks, Bruce!"

Bruce felt awkward at first, before returning the boy's hug. Finally, Dick released, and Bruce stood, smiling slightly. "Now, let's start with some basic self-defense moves."

**And Robin is born!**


	7. The Discovery

**Okay, thus chapter has a bit of Scarlet angst, a lot of Bruce worried, and a heaping spoonful of ACTION, Enjoy, plz review! :)**

Scarlet looked up at the clock, tearstained face feeling sticky. It'd been a horrible day, not because anyone had done anything to her. It was quite the opposite, actually, no one had even really acknowledged her.

She'd seen Bruce, Alfred, and Dick at breakfast, but Bruce had gotten an urgent call from work and had to go in, and Dick had come with him for some reason, and Alfred had disappeared somewhere...

She wasn't scared to be in the big house alone- no, she was simply lonely. Bruce had been taking Dick to work with him, never asking her if she wanted to come along, more frequently.

She was simply lonely. She wiped away a tear, knowing the self pity party wasn't going to help her any, and picked up the family picture she had in her night table.

Sometimes she wondered if Bruce even wanted her, he seemed to like Dick so much, now... It'd been like this for a month, now, and it was like she didn't exist.

All of this was upsetting, of course, but today, had to be the worst day ever.

She turned and looked in the mirror on her wall. "Happy Birthday." she whispered to herself. She didn't want a party- she didn't want cake, All she wanted was for Bruce, Dick, and Alfred to be home and with her again.

She was officially five now, and she made the first decision as a five year old then. She was leaving.

Deer Bruce  
I'm going to join the circus agen. Dont worry about me, I'll bee fine. I hav to go back to my famly.  
Sincerly,  
Scarlet

She wrote carefully, spelling mistakes standing out. She turned to her room- it wouldn't be hard to leave it all behind. It was just a large, fancy house- she was going to miss Bruce, Alfred, and Dick, though, but she already missed them... Maybe if she went back to the circus, maybe her old family, her circus family, would take her in and she wouldn't be lonely...

She packed a pair of clothes, the flying graysons poster, and her old costume and the picture if her family, before closing the backpack and standing, turning and pulling on her coat and boots, as it was cold, before leaving the note on the table and leaving quietly.  
************************************************** *****************

Batman and Robin had been engaged in pursuing and foiling the schemes of poison ivy for the day, and crime in gothem was definitely speeding up...

Robin beamed at him as they handed Poison Ivy over to commissioner Gordon. The boy had thrown a Batarang and jumped on the villain at exactly the right moment, distracting her long enough for Batman to disarm the evil machine she had, which would release spores into the air of gothem and harm innocent civilians. From there, it was easy for Batman to help secure Poison Ivy, and the day's work was done.

Alfred, as always, was waiting for them in the Batcave. Bruce couldn't help but feel her was forgetting something...

"Alfred! What about Scarlet?" Bruce asked, suddenly realizing she was what he'd forgotten.

"Oh no. I'm sorry, Master Bruce, she went upstairs to her room and she's so quiet I must've forgotten about her..."

"Bruce... what day is it today?" Dick asked quietly.

"Not now, Dick, I have to go check on her..." Bruce said quietly, but Dick looked over at the calendar on the wall and gasped.

"Bruce! Today...its...its her birthday..."

Bruce turned and saw it on the Calendar, sighing. How could he have forgotten? How was he going to explain this to Scarlet? He was such a terrible father...

Bruce turned and ran upstairs, but he noticed the note on the table and read it quickly, feeling his fear and guilt increase tenfold.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, and Bruce turned to him.

"She's gone. Said she's going back to the circus..."

He turned and saw Dick gasp. "We're going to find her, right, Bruce?"

"Yes, Dick, we're going to find her. I promise."

"Now, I think it's time for Batman and Robin to do a Little Patrol, don't you, Robin?" Bruce asked, after contacting the Gothem City police.

Before Robin could answer, the screen of the Bat Computer flicked on and a demented laugh sounded through the speakers.

"Hello, Batman." Joker peered down through the screen at Bruce, who, thankfully, hadn't changed his outfit as Batman yet.

"I'd like you to meet my friend, Scarlet. I found her on the street and she came for a visit."

Bruce's heart rate increased as the camera turned to reveal Scarlet, looking completely calm, up against the wall.

"Now, I assume Bruce Wayne already came begging for help to you, so give him the message, eight million dollars and she'll be returned to him alive- mostly."

The Joker had turned the camera back to himself when suddenly there was a bang from behind him. "What the...?" the Joker whirled in time to catch one of his metal-edged cards in the arm, and he screamed.

Scarlet smiled slightly. On the way to the creepy warehouse, she'd pick-pocketed the crazy clown, like the magician at the circus had taught her to do for a magic trick, and found an entire deck of the sharp edged cards- all jokers.- in his pocket.

"Scarlet, stop it right now!" the joker yelled, hoping his angry face would scare the little girl, but all she did was giggle and backflip out of the way.

She threw another card that stuck in his calf, then another...

"Scarlet!" Bruce yelled involuntarily, as the Joker dropped he camera and charged her.

The girl flipped overtop of the Joker, landing on a dusty crate, and noticed the camera, picking it up.

"Batman?" she asked hopefully. The Joker had been mumbling about his plan, and she quickly got the words out.

"This is all a distraction! The Joker's got a bomb planted in the city, he's going to blow up an orphanage!"

She jumped onto a larger crate as the Joker made a grab for her.

"He said something about Maple street!" Scarlet jumped as the Joker threw a small knife that missed her, looking back at the camera.

Bruce took it all in, shocked by the fact his little girl had found this all out and was actually doing well at dodging the Joker's attacks.

He nodded. "Can you hear me, Scarlet?" he asked, hoping this was a two-way chat.

The girl nodded. "What should I do?" she asked hopefully.

"Tell me where you are!" Bruce demanded, Alfred was already calling Commissioner Gordon with the new information.

"I don't kn-" she was cut short when suddenly there was a loud explosion and the camera fell from her hands, lens cracking before the screen went to static.

"Scarlet! Alfred, can you get a trace on the signal?"

"I can try, master Bruce." Alfred said, and Bruce nodded to Robin, heading for the Batmobile.  
************************************************** ****************

The explosion had knocked Scarlet off her feet, making her drop the camera, but also blowing a hole in he wall small enough for her to crawl through. She did so with ease, knowing help would be near the orphanage on maple street, hoping she might stumble upon it. Besides, she could also help the orphans.

She remembered her backpack, which had burst open, and saw the first thing she had to give her cover- her old circus costume. She ditched her coat and pulled on the cape, finding he mask, luckily, still attached. She pulled that on as well, feeling stronger in the familiar clothing and racing around the corner. Maple avenue would be here somewhere...  
************************************************** *****************

"Robin, go to the orphanage on Maple street. It's around the corner. Evacuate it, but I don't want you to try and defuse the bomb..."

Robin nodded, racing out and around the corner like Batman had ordered him too, and Batman turned the Batmobile forward. He was going to find Scarlet.

Robin found the door to the orphanage locked and knocked hurriedly. An old woman opened he door, looking nervous.

"Ma'am, there's a bomb set to go off soon. Batman sent me, you need to evacuate."

The woman nodded, recognizing him as Robin for his costume, and they both hurriedly woke the children and got them outside as Commissioner Gordon and the police department pulled up.

"Well, Robin, it seems like you have everything well in hand." Commissioner Gordon said, smiling slightly. It was good to know Robin was dependable.  
************************************************** *************

Sparrow could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she skidded down maple avenue. She'd managed to loose the Joker in the maze of streets that was gothem, and she recognized the orphanage, since it was surrounded by police cars.

"Sparrow!" Robin cried, using her nickname unconsciously. It was so good to see his sister alive and well, even if she was wearing her circus costume...

"Robin! We have to defuse the bomb!" she cried, stopping in front of her brother. The pieces were coming together now, Robin was actually her Robin, not a coincidence...

"Batman said not to..." Robin said quietly.

"We have no idea how big the explosion could be. It could blow up the entire street." she whispered back, trying not to let herself be heard and make people panic. Robin knew his sister was right.

He ducked under the police barrier, Sparrow close behind, and raced upstairs.

"Commissioner, we can't let them try to defuse it!" cried an officer.

"I don't like it anymore than you do, but the bomb squad isn't here yet, Those two birds are the best chance we have." Commissioner Gordon replied, looking up gravely and hoping the two could make it.  
************************************************** *******************

Batman caught sight of the Joker in his headlights and ditched he Bat mobile, racing towards the deranged clown. He tackled the man to the ground, pinning him underneath him.

"Where is Scarlet!?" Batman demanded, his fear for his daughter coming across as rage.

"She escaped me, but the orphans won't be so lucky." the Joker sang, smiling.

"Where is the bomb control!?" Batman demanded, still trying to comprehend the fact that little Scarlet had escaped a villain as notorious as the Joker.

"There's no control! The bombs are on a timer! I decided to play it old school!" the Joker burst out laughing, and Bruce shut him up by punching his face.  
"Ow, Batsy, that hurt!" the Joker cried.

"Wait, you said bombs. How many are there?" Batman demanded.

"Three! Three wonderful bombs! I made them myself! Scarlet was just a ploy to distract you, and it worked! No one can stop my bombs now, no one!" the Joker laughed again, and Bruce slapped the bat cuffs onto his wrist and threw him into the back of the batmobile. The deranged clown hit his head against he window and apparently knocked himself out, and Batman was grateful or the silence. He turned the Batmobile towards Maple avenue, hoping he could get there in time to warn everyone...  
************************************************** *****************

"Robin! The bat radar is picking up three bombs!" Sparrow cried, and Robin, who"d located the first bomb under the ductwork was was struggling to disarm it, stared.

"What!? Sparrow, I need you to get our hand in here, it's small enough... Pull out the wire! I have to go work on the other bombs! We've only got two minutes..."

Sparrow pulled out the wire and nodded. Normally she and Robin worked well under pressure, but tonight had been so harrowing that both their nerves were shot... Robin raced upstairs

"Sparrow, try and find the third bomb!" Robin yelled down, and she obeyed, hurrying upstairs with him. She finally found the bomb in the cramped bedroom and stared.

"Robin, the timer on this one is faster! Thirty secounds!"

Robin raced into the room, eyes wide, and saw she was right. He shook his head looking defeated. "We don't have time." he explained.

He dragged her out of the room. He'd defused two bombs, but it wasn't good enough...

There was time to go back downstairs, but if they were caught in the explosion the house would cave in on them, so Robin instead led them up another flight of stairs. They burst out onto the roof just as the bomb went off, the scream of wood splintering and metal on metal all they could hear as they ducked for cover...

Batman pulled up just in time to see the left side of the orphanage explode and stared, looking around. He met Comissioner Gordon's wide eyes with his own narrowed ones.

"Where are they?" he demanded.

"B-Batman... They were trying to defuse it... I'm sorry..."

Batman felt his rage turn into fear, no, terror, to be exact, and the building was engulfed in flames and smoke. His kids were inside...

He moved to get his grappling hook and go after them, but Commissioner Gordon stopped him. "I can't let you go in there, Batman..."

"Why didn't you tell that to them, then? They were only children, after all." Batman growled, parental side revealing itself.

"Look!" Someone pointed to the top of the burning building, and there, through the flames, were two silhouettes.

"Robin! Sparrow!" Batman yelled, staring. Suddenly he two were moving, he dared to hope they'd make it out before the building caved in, and they reached he edge of the rooftop and jumped...

************************************************** *****************  
Robin's cape caught on fire, as did the rest of the roof, and Sparrow quickly beat out the flames. Robing seized her hand and started to run towards he edge if the rooftop, and she knew what he was going to do and closed her eyes.

When their feet left the ground, she was no longer afraid of falling, the image of her parent's deaths no longer haunted her, but the phrase that was said by her father so often rang true in her mind; Daring Hearts and Withering Heights.

Their feet touched the next rooftop and they both stumbled, rolling to avoid the shock of the fall, until both she and Robin stood, smiling at one another, each with torn costumes, scratches, bruises, and burns, but feeling as if they were once again the flying Graysons.

"Let's go." Robin said hoarsely, and she nodded, flipping onto the fire escape, Robin not far behind her, before grabbing onto her brother's waist as he threw a batarang, using the rope tied to it to wrap around the lamppost, and swinging down, both of them managing to land despite the exhaustion as Batman raced over to them.

"I told you not to attempt to disarm the bomb..." Batman started to scold, but he saw Scarlet and realized she'd been with Dick the entire time, and had to stare. She'd no doubt recognize him...

"Tati." she whispered, wrapping her arms around Bruce in a hug, and Bruce forgot the lecture he was going to give them both, simply relaxing that the were both okay.

"Commissioner, I see you've found the Joker." Batman nodded to he officers dragging the criminal out of the bat mobile.

"Scarlet is already safe at home, I made sure she got there." he lied. Really, he wanted nothing more than to get both his bedraggled children home, and Scarlet peeled herself off of him, still standing next to Robin.

Commissioner Gordon nodded. "Thanks again, Batman, and you too, Robin and... the other bird."

Sparrow offered a wane smile before sliding into the now vacant back of the bat mobile and smiling. They were going home.


	8. The Costume

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I had a huge chunk if the sequel to this, The Secound Bird, uploaded, and it's been a bit of writers block trying to combat the awesome chapter I just gave you guys, Please review! I want three reviews before I post again!** **Sorry if this is short!**

Bruce was intent on speaking to both children in the bat mobile, but as soon as he entered it, Scarlet crawled between him and Dick, laying her head on his lap and drifting off to sleep, Dick leaning against the door and doing the same. They were just children, after all, despite their skills...

He pulled into the bat cave, lifting Scarlet first and carrying her into the main room in the med bay, setting her down and returning with Dick. He was used to treating the minor injuries after battle, and he gently took off Scarlet's cape and mask, dabbing at the cut across her cheek before pulling the covers up around her and moving to treat Dick's minor burns. Neither child stirred, both content to sleep, and he sat and watched them, wanting to be near them both when they awoke.

But in truth, he could sit forever, watching them sleep...

"Mami! Tati! No!" Scarlet thrashed in her sleep, scared, and Bruce rushed over to her, gently smoothing back the small girl's hair. She relaxed at his touch, and Bruce remembered the nightmares that had come after his parents death... He'd assumed the children weren't having any, especially not Scarlet, but he realised she'd probably gone to Dick when she was scared, or just sat alone in bed, scared out of her witts, when he and Dick were on patrol.

He felt frustration burn inside him. How long had she been ignored, so alone she had no one to come too when she had nightmares and her birthday was forgotten? What kind of a father was he?

He looked down at her slumbering form and smiled slightly at the innocence written on her face. She looked small, so small, it was hard to believe she'd managed to escape the Joker and help Robin defuse bombs...

"Tati..." she muttered in her sleep.

Robin stirred slowly and rubbed his eyes. "Da- I mean, Bruce?"

Bruce turned to see Dick blushing but chose to ignore the boy almost calling him Dad.

"Yes, Dick?"

"Wh-what are we going to do about Scarlet? She knows..."

"Well, Dick, I was thinking... she has potential. And she is Sparrow... what's one more bird?"

Dick agreed of course, as was his nature, and fell asleep again, leaving Bruce to smile at both his children- and partners, now.

"You'd really let me be part of the team?" Sparrow asked, excited, as Bruce showed her around the batcave.

"Yes. But it'd take time. You wouldn't be able to go out with Dick and I until I said you were ready... Come here. I have something else to show you."

Sparrow nodded, and they went into the main room. There was a table with Batman's uniform on it, Robin's on a table beside it, and on another table...

Sparrow gasped and ran over, fingers reaching out to gently stroke the silky creme colored material with black speckles on it.

"You like it, then?" Bruce asked, a bit apprehensive. He'd designed the costume himself, but he wasn't sure it was something a girl of five would like...

She nodded, turning and throwing her arms around him, and Bruce quickly returned her hug, smiling with relief. She liked it.

"Want to try it on?" he asked, and she nodded eagerly, eyes bright. Bruce had set up a screen with Chinese designs on it in one corner for Sparrow to change behind. It wasn't difficult for him and Dick to change together, but he knew as Sparrow grew older she'd want her own place to change...

She darted behind the screen, coming out a moment later, and Bruce had to stare. It looked wonderful, but the zipper in the back was undone. Not that it daunted him. She was his daughter, after all.

"Can you zip it?" she asked, turning around, and Bruce fumbled to zip up the back of the costume before smiling at what he saw.

Sparrow with her brown leggings, the creme colored shirt speckled with black looking like a Sparrow's underbelly, and the brown feathered cape easily looking like a sparrow's back. She was small and delicate like a Sparrow, but true to her name, when it came down to it, she was a clever, smart bird who knew how to survive.

"Now, for the mask." Bruce produced a black satin domino mask and gently held it in his open palms.

"This mask is the most important part of your costume. No one can know who you are, or who Dick and I are, understood?"

Sparrow nodded calmly.

"You are to keep this mask on as long as you're wearing your costume. Let no one but Dick, Alfred, or I take it off you, alright?"

She nodded again and stood stock still as Bruce tied it over her eyes.

He pulled back, looking at her and smiling. "Welcome to the Batcave, Sparrow. Your training begins."  
_

"Now, how do you two feel about sparring one another?" Bruce asked.

Both Sparrow and Robin looked eager and stepped into a fighting stance, circling.

"I want you to be careful, both of you." Bruce cautioned, watching. They appeared not to hear him, each intent on the other.

Robin moved to fake Sparrow out, but before he could do anything Sparrow launched herself forward with a punch that struck him between the ribs, and Robin staggered back, gasping. Sparrow looked at him, slightly shocked, and Robin gave her a wane smile.

"Let's see you do it again." he managed to get out, and threw a well aimed kick that sent her onto the ground. Bruce wanted to run over to her, but before he could move, Sparrow had bounded back to her feet, smiling, blocking Robin's punch and darting between his legs, but Robin spun around and accidentally kicked her in the face.

She let out a yelp and Robin gasped, running over just as Bruce did. She'd curled into a ball, like a small pillbug, and Robin tried to un-curl her.

"Sparrow, are you all right? I'm sorry..." Sparrow suddenly uncurled herself and punched his face, and he staggered back, shocked. Sparrow giggled and Robin grinned. "You sneaky little..."

Sparrow bounded to her feet, completely unconscious of her bloody nose and wanting nothing more than to continue the match, to Bruce's horror.

She raced back over to circle Robin, who threw another punch that narrowly missed Sparrow...

"Stop! Both out you, stop. We're done training for the day. You'll spar again later, when you have more control. Until then... go patch each other up." he said uncertainly. He wasn't really sure what to do when the siblings fought, they'd never done it before, but it was clear they held no ill-will against one another as they took turns bandaging one another's scrapes.

Bruce sighed, running his hand down his face. He had a lot of work to do with these two...  
"Don't forget, Master Bruce, they did live in the circus. They're used to playing rough." Alfred offered.

"Yes, but they could seriously hurt one another." Bruce said.

"That too, is true, Master Bruce. You're they're father. You have to teach them control."

Bruce nodded, running a hand through his hair. He had his work cut out for him in making these two heroes. They had acrobatic skills, of course, they could throw batarangs, but they still had a lot to learn. He hoped he was a good enough teacher.


	9. First Day

**A little Daddy Bats here, but mainly Scarlet and Dick get their feet wet at school. Hope you like! Sorry if it's short. Please review! :)**

"Dick, Scarlet, I believe it's time you started school." Bruce said quietly to each one of them. School started in two days, and he wanted to prepare his children for what they'd encounter at the academy.

They both listened intently, as though he were describing some far off magical and they'd never heard of before, and Bruce began to worry.

"Have you ever been to a school before?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh, yeah, we performed in school gyms sometimes with Mami and Tati..." Sparrow trailed off, looking sad.

"Mami mainly homeschooled us." Dick jumped in easily.

Bruce nodded. "I know you can read and write, btu what I'm worried about is how you understand the school."

"How do you understand a school? You go and you learn and you leave, right?" Sparrow asked, looking confused.

"Yes Sparrow, but... there are hidden rules you have to follow." Bruce said, trying his best to describe the things expected of them at school.

"You have to have good manners, and be kind to others, and listen to the teacher..."

"Sounds easy." Dick said, grinning. "Don't worry, Bruce, I'm sure we'll do alright with these... hidden rules..." he said.

Bruce nodded, hoping Dick was right. But he wasn't sure.  
_

Scarlet held Bruce's hand tightly as they looked out over the playground. She didn't notice anything but the playground. She was staring at the building behind it, the elementary school building.

Dick looked over at the middle school building for grades three through six and swallowed. Third grade. He'd been taught quite a bit by his mother, she'd said he was in sixth, but he supposed it was alright to start small...

They stood hesitantly at the edge of the playground, before Robin spotted the monkey bars and grinned, leading Scarlet over. Soon they were flipping off them and onto the wood chips if the ground, and other children had gathered around to watch, and Bruce smiled. They'd be fine.

The teachers paraded out at nine, calling the names of the children in their classes and rounding them up before heading inside, the children holding hands to stay together.

Scarlet looked back at him once, grin etched into her face. She'd forgotten how much she hated the uniform, but Bruce was just grateful someone has the common sense to design the skirt with shorts underneath, so she could still flip... She waved to him, still smiling, before slipping into the building for her first day.

Dick had already met a group of boys and was chattering easily with them, shooting smiles over at the shy girls who hung around him before filing in as well, looking sharp in his black trousers and sweater top.

They were here. They were fine. He still couldn't help but worry about how they'd fare. It was, after all, their first day.

"Now, boys and girl, we're going to fill out this piece of paper so I know how much you know, alright? Write your letters, or what you can, some math, maybe even a drawing, okay? Go ahead and start."

Scarlet looked down at the paper in front of her and the long pencil, wondering what to write. When she wrote fast, she made mistakes, but it was clear the teacher was giving them a few minutes to make it nice, so she stuck her tongue out of her mouth like she always did when concentrating and began.

Writing was easy, she was just sloppy, and took time to make sure she as neat before writing down some simple addition and subtraction, throwing in multiplication and division, as well as drawing pieces if pie and labelling them as fractions. She even signed her name n cursive for brownie points, she figured, and the teacher, who was Ms. Rain, she learned, took the papers.

"Now, we're going to play a counting game, boys and girls." she had them circle up and began. "We'll all start counting at he same time, but once you've reached all the numbers you know, you'll stop. Okay, go."

Scarlet played with the threads in the red rug as she counted, head down. Some kids knew up to ten, some to sixty, but they all stopped at around fifty.

Soon there was only one voice in the room, and it was Scarlet. "Seventh, Seventy one..." she didn't notice all the children staring at her, only continued to pluck the threads on the rug. Ms. Rain finally stopped her at one hundred fifty.

"Very good Scarlet." she praised, and Scarlet blushed quietly. "Now, let's play another game."

"Richard, care to explain why you've stopped working?" Mrs. Gruu, his teacher, asked.

"I... I finished the worksheet you gave us, Ma'am." Dick stuttered quietly.

"Oh did you?" almost snatched the paper away from him and scrutinised it. Dick disliked Ms. Gruu already. Se was a loud, fat woman, with a large bosom hat made him want to be hugged by her, but he was sure it would never happen. Her thighs flapped as she walked, and she seemed very loud and mean. She checked everything over and slammed the paper back down on his desk, proclaiming loudly, "No one likes a show off, Richard. Then again, you were in a circus..."

So that was what this was about. Dick felt his anger bubble up in him but forced it down. He couldn't be in trouble on the first day. But just because he was raised in a circus didn't mean he was dumb...

"Since you finished that so quickly, have a few more worksheets."

"Circus peanut." a boy named Ed muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, and Mrs. Gruu ignored it and let the class laugh. Dick felt his cheeks flush red, He was definitely not going to have a good day.

Dick found Scarlet on the playground and smiled. At least he had one friend. He saw her looking longingly at the other end of the teeter-taughter and climbed on, sending her end skyward.

She beamed and giggled. "I was wondering when you'd come."

Dick pushed off and his end went skyward, and he nodded. "How is kindergarten?" he asked, hoping it was better than his day had been so far.

She explained everything to him, excited, and Dick nodded, happy she'd at least had a good day.  
_

Ms. Rain sat down to look over the papers she'd collected earlier from her students, smiling. Most of them had written down a few letters and numbers, and had written their names, and some had drawn completed pictures. Some kids even wrote the entire alphabet and used capitals and small letters.

She chuckled as she saw the picture of a teddy bear one student had drawn and wrote down his skills before gasping as she saw the next paper. It read;

My name is Scarlet Grayson. I'm five years old. I lived at the circus with my brother Dick and Mami and Tati. Mami taught us how to read and write when we were on the train to a new place. They were long rides. I learned a lot.

1x1=1 2x2=4 3x3=9 4x4=16 10/2=5 2-2=0 9+7=16

Ms. Rain would've thought the girl had just memorised the math facts, but she was so knowledgeable on writing it was hard to believe she was faking...

At the same time, Mrs. Gruu squinted down at Dick Grayson's worksheets. She had no idea how a boy who'd spent his life in the circus cold be so skilled at book learning- and she didn't like it. This boy was a charity case, he didn't belong at Gotham Academy. But she had to put up with him, for now. She looked out the windows and saw him back-flipping off the monkey bars. The brat was a show-off, and she smiled. That just might work against him.  
_

Bruce was already anxious about having both children at school. It was driving him insane, the silence in the his office. He was used to hearing little feet and laughter, not the dull ticking of the clock and the occasional noise that Alfred made while baking.

His phone rang around noon, and he stared when he saw it was the school. What could they have done? Had something happened to them?

"Hello?" he answered, trying to hide his anxiety.

"Hello Mr. Wayne, this is Valorie Rain, Scarlet's teacher. I was hoping we could have a conference about your children at around three today?"

"Of course. Did Scarlet do something wrong? Is she alright?" he asked, nervous parent coming out.

"No, it's quite the opposite, actually. I'll see you when you get here, Mr. Wayne." Ms. Rain said, before hanging up.

Bruce felt his palms begin to sweat, It was two thirty now, he was going to be picking them up from school soon anyways... He chose his car and headed out.  
_

"Hello, Mr. Wayne." Henry Block, the principal, stood and greeted him, and he shook hands with the man, sitting down at the table. He saw the guidance counselor, Ms. Rain, and Mrs. Gruu, who e believed to be Dick's teacher, was there. Scarlet and Dick were waiting in the lobby, as were his instructions to them.

"Now, Mr. Wayne, were you aware Scarlet can read and write fluently?" Ms. Rain asked, sliding the note Scarlet had written earlier towards Bruce, Bruce glanced at it and nodded.

"Yes, she does it quite often." he waited for Ms. Rain to continue.

"Well, Mr. Wayne, she's actually at a third grade level right now, and I believe it would be wise if we either moved her up to a third grade class or had sessions on the computers where she could have higher learning, while the other children were learning the basics. What are your thoughts?"

Bruce nodded. "I'd prefer the latter, really. I want her to learn at her own pace, but I also want her to be with children her own age. She's not socially ready to be with third graders, and I don't want her to be the odd one out..."

Mrs. Gruu snorted, and the principal raised his eyebrows at her.

Ms. Rain looked embarrassed at her colleagues behaviour and handed Bruce he accelerated learning form he needed to sign for Scarlet.

"Is their something you wanted to say to me, Mrs. Gruu?" Bruce asked, looking at her.

Mrs. Gruu was taken by surprise, and she linked dumbly for a moment before nodding.

"Mr. Wayne, I believe the boy isn't ready for third grade, or any grade here at Gotham Academy for that matter." she said boldly.

"Wait a minute, Riley..." Principal Henry tried to cut the woman off, but she rambled on.

"They were raised in a circus, and now you want them to adjust to being your pets! They have no place here at Gotham Academy... The boy is a show-off. He finished his worksheets ahead of time and sat their, daydreaming..."

"I see nothing wrong with that as long as he gets his work done and is respectful to you and others." Bruce said calmly. "As for his finishing work early, maybe he needs accelerated learning as well?"

Principal Henry nodded eagerly. "I looked over his work today. He's going at a sixth-grade level. accelerated learning would be wonderful for him, as well."

Bruce nodded and signed the form. Mrs. Gruu was sputtering now. "B-but... they'e circus children! How are you putting them in accelerated learning!? They don't belong at Gotham Academy! They belong in a zoo!"

Bruce forced a smile. His protective side was showing again, and he forced himself to remain calm as he spoke. "I'd appreciate if you kept your opinions to yourself, Mrs. Gruu. They pay you to teach, not to judge. Mr. Block, I believe it's in Dick's best interest if he's moved to a class where he's more... welcome..."

"Of course, Mr. Wayne." Principal Henry nodded, quickly jotting that down.

"Mr. Wayne..." Ms. Gruu ground out, already irritated. "Your... children,.. have been doing back-flips and all manner of gymnastic moves out on the playground. I find it quite dangerous and ask that they stop immediately. The insurance policy doesn't cover... acrobats..."

Bruce nodded. "I'd be more than happy to buy a better insurance policy, then. Every child deserves to have fun on a playground."

Mrs. Gruu growled and Principal Henry nodded quickly. Bruce smiled. Day One of school was over Only one hundred seventy nine more to gol


	10. First Patrol

**Alright, this chapter is about Sparrow's first patrol and first dealing outside of training with Beuce and Dick. If you like, review! It may help the next chap come faster! Sorry it tookso oong for this one, but people weren't reviewing!**

"Now, when he kicks, block and move in." Bruce ordered. Sparrow nodded,eyes alrit with understanding, and when Robin kicked she blocked it easily and punched her brother.

"Good. Now, keep sparring." Batman watched, slightly amused, as the two fought. they were no longer pounding the daylights out of one another- they'd realized the goal was to incapacitate- not kill- and were each growing remarkably better.

Another thing that had at first come as a surprise to him was how they used their acrobatics when fighting- it gave them an edge against bigger opponents, he supposed. Sparrow flipped over Robin then, but her brother had anticipated the move and swept her legs out from under her, before smiling and helping her to her feet.

"You'll be able to beat me someday, Sparrow." Robin assured her, ruffling her hair, and Sparrow grinned, stepping back into fighting stance. "Again." she ordered, Bruce chuckled and Robin stepped back into a fighting stance, smiling slightly as well.

Bruce had to admit, they were making progress by leaps and bounds. The acrobatic training they both had had a lot to do with it, but it was also their determination. Sometimes Bruce actually had to carry them upstairs to bed because they'd managed to fall asleep in the training room while taking a break.

Bruce knew Sparrow was almost ready for her first patrol- it had taken three months of training, but she was ready to make her debut to the city of Gotham- she was already used to late nights, since she insisted she wait up for them to get home from patrol, saying she'd be doing it soon enough anyways...

Bruce sighed. He still had to explain to the league how he'd gone from big bad Bruce to father of two and mentor to the youngest sidekicks ever in five short months. There had been pictures of Sparrow on the burning building with Robin circulating all over the press, and Clark hadn't stopped calling, wanting answers, but he'd disregarded those calls until now.

He knew it was only a matter of time before the League demanded to know what it was exactly he was up to, but he'd tell them on his own terms, he'd already decided. Besides, Sparrow might not even want to be a hero. She might see how hard it was after her first official patrol and give up. But Bruce was pretty sure that wouldn't happen.

Which meant he'd have to prepare himself to show them to the league. And he decided he'd do just that- after Sparrow's first patrol.

That night- the night of her first patrol- he presented his gifts.

"Now that you're actually going into the thick of it, you need protection. These are bullet proof covers for your shirt and pants, as well as kevlar gloves..."

He gently tugged them on. They bore remnants of her old costume- the patterns on them were the same, she still looked like a Sparrow- but Bruce relaxed more knowing his littlest bird was protected.

"Dick wears them too." Bruce said, and Dick smiled, obviously proud of his bullet-proof costume.

"Alright, I want you two to stay together. Try and stay close, alright? And Sparrow, it you get tired or want to go home, I'll call Alfred to get him to pick you up. We just watch for crime and stop it. Everyone ready to go?"

They both nodded eagerly, slipping into the Bat mobile. Bruce, now changed into Batman, checking to be sure they had their seat belts buckled before pulling out of the Batcave.

"Road trip!" Sparrow sang, and Robin laughed at her attitude. Bruce had to smile slightly, and he realized this patrol might be a little different than all the others.

Soon they were all situated on the top of Wayne Enterprises, staring down at the street below, looking for crimes in progress...

Sparrow crouched with them, looking excited. "Anything?" she asked hopefully.

"No, nothing..." Robin said. Just then Bruce grabbed his arm.

"Thirty degrees left, mugging in progress. Sparrow, stay here." Batman ordered. "Robin, let's go."

Sparrow sat carefully on her perch, watching her brother and Batman swoop down with practiced ease. She heard a noise to her left and looked over to see six men rushing towards an unsuspecting Batman and Robin.

"Robin! Incoming!" she yelled a warning as she jumped, shooting out her grappling hook and swinging down to face the men. The guns were drawn, and Scarlet felt determination envelope her as she threw down two smoke pellets. Instantly she seemed to dissolve in the smoky night.

She used the cover the smoke provided to knock one man out, sneaking up behind another and hitting him as well, but just then the wind blew he smoke away and she was left facing four angry drug dealers. One pinned her against the wall, and she bit his hand out of desperation. "Batman!" she yelled, and Batman saw her and raced over.

He backhanded the man holding her, and the assailant passed out, dropping Sparrow onto the pavement. Robin knocked out his man and ran over to help them take down the remaining three.

She and Robin instantly teamed up, choosing to fight one man first. Robin flipped over the man's shoulder, and he whirled to face the boy wonder, fists raised, forgetting about Sparrow. Robin faked left and shoved the man to where Sparrow had positioned herself as a speed-bump, and the man tripped and slammed his head into the pavement, passing out.

Batman had knocked out one man with a punch to the jaw, and decided to let Robin and Sparrow take down the last man. Robin dove between the man's legs, absorbing the shock in a roll. While the man was distracted with Robin, Sparrow seemed to materialize from nowhere and Slam her bird-a-rang into his skull, and he, too, collapsed.

"What happened to stay put?" Batman asked, shooting his youngest a Bat-glare.

"They were going to rush you... I knew they' get the upper hand if I let them surprise you guys..."

Just then the police, along with the press, pulled up, snapping pictures of the three, who emerged from the alley, Batman with a thug slung over his shoulder, Sparrow and Robin working together to drag a man over behind him until the were all oiled into the police cars.

"Sparrow! Robin! Come on, kids, answer the questions!" one reporter yelled, frustrated by their lack of response.

"Just ignore it, Robin." Batman said out of the side of his mouth as he talked quietly with commissioner Gordon.

"Yes, they're part of a drug-dealing gang that's been at large, Their capture will certainly help n rounding the rest up. Thank you, Batman." Commissioner Gordon said.

"No problem. At first I thought it was a mugging..."

"Sparrow! Sparrow, come on, kid!" the frustrated reporter had moved closer to Sparrow, who was looking slightly flustered and pulled up her cape to hide her face.

"Ugh! Come on, kid, work with me here!" he yelled.

In response, Sparrow turned tail and ran to Batman, wrapping her arms around his legs, and Batman gently tugged his cape around as to hide her.

"Now look here, buddy, this is Sparrow's first patrol, and I won't tolerate anyone treating her like that! Are we understood?" Robin said, facing off with the rude reporter.

"Who are you to give me orders, kid?" the man sneered.

"I might not be as big as you, but at least I don't run around picking on children! Now leave Sparrow alone! Can't you see she's scared!?" Robin said heatedly, and the man took a step back.

Robin's intense protective expression faded as the other reporters began questioning him.

"No comment." he said politely, before trotting over to Batman.

Commissioner Gordon smiled slightly at the sight of the small costumed girl hidden beneath Batman's cape. He saw the was the caped crusader's brow had furrowed protectively when the child ran over to him, and he nodded cooly to the commissioner. "Try and throw the hounds off the trail next time." he said, motioning his head towards the reporters.

"Dramatic escape?" Sparrow piped up from beneath his cape, big blue eyes imploring.

Batman had to chuckle. "Alright. See you later, Commissioner."

"Thanks again, Batman."

Batman threw two smoke pellets down and he and his young charges slipped away in the night, leaving the reporters and the commissioner alone in the night.

"How'd I do, Bruce?" Sparrow asked once they were back at the cave.

"Good. Next time, don't take six thugs on by yourself, though. And when the press comes, just stay close to me and say no comment."

Sparrow beamed at the word good and nodded eagerly.

"Can we have ice cream now, Bruce?" she asked, looking hopeful.

"I don't think so, Sparrow, I don't want you on sugar high before bed. But I bet Alfred has warm milk and cookies waiting for you two. Go ahead and change."

Sparrow instantly brightened at the notion and ducked into the changing room with Robin, bouncing out in her zebra pajamas a moment later.

She and Robin chattered over cookies and milk until around two in the morning, and then Bruce tucked them in before going to bed himself, satisfied with the day's work.

**REVIEW PLEASE :)**


	11. Meet the League

**Okay, new chapter, after thid Sparrow and Robin will meet some name-brand villains and help take 'em down. Please review! I'll sendyou a mental pie if you review! :)**

Ever since he press had gotten photos of Sparrow and Robin out last night, his phone had been ringing off the hook. He knew it was Clark, trying to demand he finally explain to the league what is going on with him and two children fighting crime.

He answered the phone once. "Meet me at the watch tower tomorrow at eight." is all he said, before slamming the phone shut and sighing, wondering how he's going to explain his children to the league.

Then again, he's Batman. He doesn't have to ask permission for things- he tells people what he's going to do, and no one dares question him. He decides he'll go with the scary Bat image tomorrow before calling it a day.  
_

Bruce got both children ready the next day, even braiding Sparrow's hair so it's out of her way- before he explained what happens to them.

"I'm going to introduce you to the league today." he said, looking over their costumes to find them all alright. "Speak only when spoken to. I want you on your best behavior, alright?"

They both nodded, looking excited, before leaving.

The press have a constant monitor on the Hall of Justice, and soon word gets out that they're there, but Batman ignores them, only entered with his two children. Superman is waiting for him at the zeta tubes, and looks surprised to see Sparrow and Robin with him, but Batman ignores this, as well.

"Recognized, Batman, B09, Superman, B11, two unrecognized lifeforms." the computer reads.

"Edit- young female designated Sparrow, B02, young male designated Robin, B01." Batman says, and he computer takes a moment to process it. "Recognized, Robin, B01, Sparrow, B02."

He ignored the look Superman gave him as they zeta to the watch tower.

Superman leads them to a conference room, and Batman is slightly surprised to find it filled with other heroes- Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow, Aqua Man, and Black Canary.

But he took his seat, Sparrow and Robin going on either side of him, sitting straight and masking their nervousness with the dignity of a Bat.

Wonder Woman cleared her throat. "As you can guess, Batman, we're here to discuss you're new... prodigies..."

"What about them?" Batman asked calmly, and Superman spoke. "Who are they, what training do they have, how old are they, and what makes you think this is a good lifestyle for them?" he asked.

Batman sighed. "They're real names and Scarlet and Richard Grayson, they've been training with me in forensic science, detective skills, law, martial arts, and general training for months, Sparrow just turned five and Robin is nine, and they enjoy fighting crime."

"They enjoy it?" Superman asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you enjoy it, kids?"

Sparrow nodded eagerly, as did Robin, and Superman raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you worried about their safety?" Aqua Man asked, looking pensive.

"They're costumes are bulletproof, fireproof, and insulated, it'd be hard for them to get hurt."

"But if they were to get hurt? Or captured? It's a real possibility they could be tortured." Superman said.

"Then I'd find whoever took them and get them back." Batman ground out.

"I'm sure you would, but let's face it. She's five. I don't see what good she can be in the field..." Green Arrow said, motioning to Sparrow.

"Don't underestimate her. She has the element of surprise on her side." Batman said. "And I would suggest you don't judge them until you've seen them fight. Why not put them against the training bots?" Batman asked, and Superman looked wary.

"On my home planet, we train our young in a similar way. They must face the dangers on their own if they are to learn how to survive." Wonder Woman said.

Batman nodded and everyone stood, heading for the training room. Batman moved to set up two robots, setting the one Sparrow was fighting on difficulty level four and the one robin would fight on difficulty level five.

"You two know how to do this, right? Just like at the cave." Batman said, and both children nodded.

Batman grabbed the remote, backing away. "Ready, set, go!"

The robots came to life, light sensors that had to be hit blinking. They raised there metallic arms and each started towards the children.

Robin launched himself towards the thing n a kick, de-activating the sensor on he thing's chest and causing it to stumble back. While out was stumbling Robin flipped up and whacking the sensor on it's head, then kicked the one on it's back, and the thing powered down, since all it's sensors had been knocked out.

Sparrow, meanwhile, flipped over the robot's arms and landed on his shoulders, punching the sensor on it's head. The robot, surprised by this move, went to grab her, but she'd already back-flipped off. The robot turned to face her and she grinned, ducking to the side and landing a punch to the chest sensor and grabbing ahold of the outstretched arm, using it like a bar and swinging over, propelling herself away and landing perfectly. From there, she simply punched the sensor on it's back, and the robot powered down.

Superman just stared. He'd known the children were good, but not that good. Green Arrow and Aqua Man had a similar look on their faces, and Wonder Woman was simply smiling, while Batman crossed his arms in triumph.

"We should've known. I mean, the kids are Bats, they have to be crazy good." Green Arrow whispered as the children hurried back.

Superman and Aqua Man nodded in agreement.

"And you plan to keep training them?" Superman asked, looking curious.

Batman nodded. "I will train them with or without league approval, so I suggest you approve." he suggested.

Superman sighed. "I approve."

The rest of the league chorused that as well, and Sparrow grinned. "Does that mean you guys are our family now?" she asked hopefully.

Superman was genuinely shocked by the question, but Wonder Woman smiled. "Of course we are."

"Yay! We got a family now, Robin, a bigger family!" Sparrow said, grinning and jumping up and down.

Batman smiled slightly, a tender look overcoming his face beneath his cowl, and the rest of the league noticed it and raised their eyebrows.

"Sparrow, Robin, there's a trapeze set in the training room if you want to..." The children were already gone, running back into the training room and squealing with delight when they saw the trapeze set.

Batman smiled slightly, and the other league members exchanged looks. It was clear a lot had changed sine they'd last had a talk with the caped crusader.  
But first, they watched through the glass observation wall. Both children had scrambled up the ladder to the two platforms, and Sparrow didn't hesitate to grab hold of the trapeze, swinging her legs to get herself started. Robin did the same, and she finally let go of the bar, flipping once and letting Robin, who was now hanging upside down, catch hold of her hands and send her back-flipping towards her own trapeze again...

It was this feeling of flying she'd missed. She wasn't afraid of it, even if her parents had died doing the same thing. She embraced the danger, loved every second of it...

She caught hold of her own trapeze bar, barely, and grinned at Robin, sending herself flipping towards him again. Again, he caught her, and again, she flew back to her own trapeze.

Finally, she allowed Robin to have the entire set to himself, flipping back to her platform. She knew Robin would never flip and expect him to catch her, since he was much bigger than she was and it wasn't safe...

Robin easily flipped from bar to bar, smiling. He was flying, again. When he grew tired, after half an hour, he allowed Sparrow flip between the trapezes by herself, smiling. They'd practice for hours at a time with their parents. He remembered flipping to his father, taking turns with Sparrow...

They'd both been in a trapeze since they were two, of course, it was the way circus life worked, and there was no way they could forget it in a few short months of not being on a trapeze. It was like instinct to them, like breathing, you could never stop, never forget...

"Wow." Green Arrow stared, watching the two flip across the air towards the other. "Aren't they scared?"

Batman shook his head. "It's in their blood. Their parents did it, too, they were raised in a circus..."

"That explains the crazy acrobatics skills, then." Black Canary said.

Batman nodded.

"How... how did you get them, then?" Green Arrow asked. "It's not like you could just recruit them to be heroes..."

"Where are their parents?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Dead. Murdered in front of them months ago. Robin discovered the Batcave first, and then Scarlet was captured by the Joker and put two and two together."

Black Canary and Wonder Woman gasped at the news, and Superman sighed. "Nothing is every simple with you, is it, Bruce? What if they are captured? Sparrow's little, they could easily torture her and she'd spill everything..."

"Don't think so. If anything, Sparrow would be the first to find a way of escape. She may be small, but she's smart. She knows her size isn't an advantage, but she has a mind that makes up for it... So does Robin. They'll make great heroes someday."

Superman nodded. "If they get there, that is."

Batman turned to face him. "Anyone that stands in their way will have me to deal with."

And from that day forward, the league knew not to mess with Daddy Bats.


	12. Dentist

**Sorry for the wait on this chappy, but I've been doing a ton of young justice fan fic updates. If I get more reviews, I'll write more!**

"Daddy?" Scarlet Grayson asked nervously as she clutched his hand.

"Yes, Scarlet?" Bruce asked.

"I-I don't want to go to the Dentist..."

"Neither do I." Dick said, looking pale.

"I know, but it'll make your teeth healthy." Bruce tried to explain.

"Our teeth are fine." Dick said firmly.

"We'll let the dentist judge that." Bruce said firmly, taking them in. The waiting room had animals and trees painted in the walls, and there was a toy box with some other children scattered around. Scarlet let go of Bruce as he went over to check in with the receptionist and instead clung to Dick, looking scared.

"Hey, if anything goes wrong, we can just go ninja on them..." Dick said, trying to ease both their minds, but Scarlet didn't let go if him and he didn't peel his sister off.

"Dick Grayson?" a hygienist wearing what looked like purple pajamas with monkeys on them asked.

"Bruce, don't leave me." Dick whispered, eyes wide, and Bruce nodded, looking a bit surprised his son was so anxious as they went back to the examination room. Dick had been forced to peel Scarlet off, and she stood, afraid and unsure what to do.

She closed her eyes and envisioned every possible escape route in the building, planning what she would do when her turn came...

"Now, I'm going to count your teeth, alright?" the hygienist said, and Dick nodded and swallowed. He hated this, having to keep his mouth open and not being able to swallow or breath and feeling his teeth being poked and prodded...

"Oh, you have a loose one here." the hygienist settled her hook on one of his loose teeth and wiggled, hard- Dick heard the crunch of the root breathing and tasted the blood, sitting up, eyes wide.

He spit the tooth and blood into his hand and the hygienist stared, a bit shocked. "Well..."

Dick spit more blood into the small round sink, and Bruce handed his son some paper towels, which he pressed to the bleeding spot on his gum, feeling the pain...

"I'm done counting and cleaning your teeth, all we need now is for the dentist to come take a look at them." the hygienist informed them, standing to go and leaving them alone.

"Bruce... she ripped my tooth out!" Dick whispered urgently.

Bruce nodded. "I'm sure it was just an accident, Dick..."

"That accident didn't happen in your mouth!" Dick said, eyes wide.

"Look, we're almost done here, Dick..."

Just then the dentist, a man in his thirties, entered, smiling to them both. "Hello Dick. Open wide for me, alright?"

Dick hesitantly obeyed, and the man smiled. "I see you lost a tooth there. The tooth fairy will be coming soon..." Dick couldn't answer. His mouth was propped wide open, he was swallowing the blood from his gum, still, and this man was staring into his mouth... He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It would all be over soon...

Soon he stumbled out into the waiting room, gauze pressed to his bloody gum and feeling immensely relieved it was over

Scarlet, however, was feeling anything but calm. Se saw the bloody gauze in her brother's mouth and panicked, but managed to stay where she was for Bruce's sake.

She clung to her father's hand as he went until the exam room with her. A hygienist, a different one, thankfully, cleaned her teeth and counted them before nodding for the dentist to come in.

He smiled. "Hello, Scarlet."

"H-hi..." Scarlet squeaked, still scared. The man directed himself to Bruce.

"I'd like to perform some sealants on her teeth, to prevent cavities..."

"She's pretty scared..." Bruce said, looking doubtful.

"It's very easy, trust me." the man said, flashing a pesly white smile.

"Okay..."

Five minutes later Scarlet was in tears. There as a big blue piece of plastic in her mouth, she couldn't swallow, and some awful tasting goo was dripping down onto her teeth...

"Almost done with this one." the dentist said cheerily, hardening the sealant before pulling the blue plastic from her mouth. "Now, I have two more to do..."  
"No! No more!" Scarlet cried, turning over so she was face down in the chair and still crying.

"Scarlet- Scarlet, please. It'll be easy..." the dentist tried.

"Scarlet, for me?" Bruce asked, feeling overwhelmed He wanted nothing more than to sock the dentist for making his baby cry, and wanted to tell him to buzz off...

"N-no..." Scarlet sobbed.

The dentist moved and forced Scarlet to turn over. While she was whimpered he went to start the next sealant, though it was clear Scarlet was terrified...

"Ow!" Scarlet clamped down on his gloved hand, terror taking over...

She let up and the dentist pulled his hand away, cradling it as blood spurted freely from the bite...

"S-she bit me..." the dentist said, looking shocked.

"Dick! Dick, help me! Dick!" Scarlet yelled, still terrified. Dick pushed through several hygienists and ran into the room to see Bruce looking shocked, the dentist's hand dripping blood, and Scarlet sobbing.

"Scarlet!" Scarlet jumped into her brother's arms as the dentist ran out to go tend his cut, soothing her quietly.

"Shh... sh... I won't let him hurt you. If he tries anything, you bite him again." Dick said, and Bruce stood, realizing the appointment was over. He checked out and paid at the front desk, waiting until they were in the truck before taking Scarlet from Dick.

"Shhh... shh... I won't make you go back there ever again." Bruce said, resolving to find a different dentist.

"H-he was the w-worst dentist ever..." Scarlet hiccuped.

"Yes, he was." Bruce said, wondering how this place had gotten a good rep as a children's dentist. "Now, let's be thankful the press wasn't here."

Both children looked downcast. They hated he press following them around...

"D-did I bite him good, Daddy?" Scarlet asked, looking up at him with tear-filled baby blues...

"Yes. You bit him real good, Scarlet." Bruce said, chuckling slightly. "Now, how about we go out for ice cream?"  
Both children nodded, Dick buckling Scarlet into the backseat. Bruce found it amazing this girl could fight criminals but be terrified by the dentist... Then again, this dentist had successfully traumatized both his children.

That day Bruce learned to never go near Scarlet's mouth when she was scared, and that ice cream had healing powers.

**Lol, right? This actually happened to me, I was s scared cuz I'd had the sealants done before and hated them and he forced my mouth open as I wassobbing and started doing them, so I bit him. Jerk didn't get the message though, and had to bite harder the next time... Yeah. I go to a different, awesome adult dentist now! XD Review!**


	13. Bedtime Stories

**Storm, this is for you. I'm sorry it's short, but I figured it was a cute piece and loved the suggestion... Please Review! :)**

"Daddy... can you tell us a story?" Scarlet asked innocently, smiling at her father, hope shining in the depths of her blue eyes...

"Alright..." he sounded confident, but in truth, he had no idea how to tell a story...

"What story do you want to hear?" he prayed it was something simple, like the three little bears, because that was honestly the only fairy tale he knew...

"Jack and the Beanstalk." Sparrow said, and Dick nodded.

"What and the what?" Bruce asked, looking confused.

"Jack and the beanstalk." Scarlet said. Dick's eyes widened. "You don't know Jack and the Beanstalk?"

"Well... no..." Bruce admitted, Dick nodded, taking it into stride from where he and his sister had been telling jokes to one another before bed. "Alright. We'll teach it to you, then. Once upon a time there was a poor lady, with only her son and a cow..."

The next fifteen minutes were spent with Dick telling the story of Jack and the beanstalk to both Bruce and Sparrow. Sparrow was enchanted, but progressively her eyelids grew heavier...

"And that, it Jack and the Beanstalk." Dick finished, looking thoroughly exhausted from telling the story to them.

"N-now you tell it, Bruce..." Sparrow said, eyes already closing, Bruce smiled slightly as her thumb made it's way to her mouth... H always forgot she was only five when he saw he child patrolling the city, but here she was, so real, so vulnerable...

"Alright." He said tenderly. "Once upon a time, there was a very poor lady who owned only a cow. One day she to,d her son, Jack, to sell the cow..." Bruce looked over and smiled. They were both asleep. He carefully carried Scarlet to her room, smiling to himself. Moments like these made life as Bruce Wayne, owner of Wayne Tech father, and secretly a superhero, worth living.


	14. Rocks

**LadyAmazon, thanks again for all the reat ideas! Review, please!**

"Dad, can we get a dog?" Dick asked one day after patrol.

Bruce thought quietly of all the maintenance needed to keep a dog and Alfred who already had to take care of his children while he was away...

"Sorry Dick, but no. We wouldn't have the time to give it a good home."

Dick nodded, looking a bit disappointed, as did Scarlet, before she perked up.

"What about fleas? At the circus Harry had fleas. He taught them to do tricks..."

"Until they got into the clown's wigs..." Dick said, wrinkling his nose at the memory. Bruce smiled slightly despite himself.

"No, we are not getting fleas, either."

"What about a turtle, Bruce? Those are real easy. The can't even run away..." Dick said.

"We aren't getting any pets, Dick." Bruce said firmly.

"Awww..." Scarlet was giving him puppy eyes now, and he knew he'd never be able to resist unless he turned away now, which he did.

"I'm going to work now. I want you two to have a good day at school." Bruce said to the wall.

"Why's he talking to the wall, Dickey?" Sparrow asked.

"Because we're bothering him..." Dick said.

"Time to get ready for school, Master Dick and Mistress Sparrow." Alfred called. Sparrow wrinkled her nose. "Don't call me mistress, Alfred. It's too girly." she said, before ducking out to get ready. Bruce looked warily over his shoulder to be sure the puppy eyes were gone before going about his day.

Later that day, Bruce entered the house smiling. He'd had an idea at work, and he set the two boxes on the table...

"Dick! Sparrow! Come down here please..." He called. There was no clattering, but Bruce smiled as he heard the familiar sound of socks squeaking on the banister as both the acrobats slid down, each leaping off and running to him.

"Daddy!" they grinned and both hugged him.

"Hello, you two. Look what I got." Bruce pointed to the boxes with holes in them and Sparrow squealed. "It's a bunny!" she said, jumping up and down.

"Not quite, you two. Aren't you going to open it?"

"Can we?" Dick asked, ever polite.

Bruce nodded. "Go ahead and open them."

Both children opened the boxes, incredibly excited...

"It's a rock." Dick said, looking thoroughly disappointed.

"I thought you liked us, Bruce." Sparrow looked up at him, looking all sad...

"What kinda person gives a kid rocks?" Dick asked, looking even more disappointed.

"They aren't just rocks. They're pet rocks, see..." Bruce said, trying to rectify the situation.

"Well how do they see? They don't have eyes." Sparrow said, looking slightly confused. "Or ears- or brains- geeez! They hardly got anything!"

"They don't need to see." Bruce said, handing one to each of them.

"And you can feed them, and bathe them, and treat them just like a person..."

Dick stared. "But it's just a rock!"

"Don't say that! He didn't mean it Rocky, he didn't mean it!" Sparrow yelled, grabbing her rock off the ground and running away.

"I see someone's bonded already." Bruce said, smiling happily. At least one of his children liked the rocks...

"Hi..." Dick picked up his own rock, looking at it carefully. "I... I guess I own you now..." Dick was eager to bond more with his own rock...

That night at bedtime, Bruce slipped carefully into Scarlet's room to tuck her in, smiling slightly when he saw what she clutched into her hands- a pet rock.

Dick's pet rock sat on his nightstand, with a small name tag. Bruce leaned forward to read it. In Dick's neat handwriting, it read; Oscar. Bruce had to chuckle slightly- he hoped his children didn't start getting too caught up in their rocks...  
_

"Rocky is better than Oscar." Sparrow declared proudly, holding up Rocky. She'd glued google eyes onto the rock, and Dick was doing the same with his. "Is not. Oscar is better than Rocky any day..."

"His eye is crooked..." Sparrow reached over to straighten it and accidentally knocked it off. "Hey!" Dick grabbed the nearest thing he had, which was Oscar, and threw it at her to ward her off. Oscar slammed into her face and she fell back, gasping and clutching her nose, looking scared...

Dick realized what he'd done with horror. "Scarlet! Scarlet, I'm sorry! Let me see, let me see, I'll help..." Dick saw the blood cascading down her nose and onto her lips and knew it was far too much for him to handle.

"Dad! Dad, help! Scarlet's hurt!" Dick yelled, and Bruce raced in, heart pounding at the urgency in his son's voice and the mention of his youngest being injured...

Scarlet had curled into a ball on the floor, eyes wide with fear. Blood trickled from her nose onto her lips and chin, and Bruce recoiled slightly with horror at the sight of his youngest hurt...

"It's alright, Scarlet, it'll be alright..." Bruce gathered her into his arms, and the frightened five year old buried her head in his chest, clinging to him desperately. Bruce carried her to the kitchen, sitting her on the counter.

"Lean forward- that's it..." he held a tissue to her nose, using a damp cloth to dab off the blood...

"Tati?" she asked quietly.

"You'll be alright baby, I promise..." Scarlet nodded. Her mouth was filling with blood, and Bruce, like any dutiful parent would, held a tissue under her chin for her to spit into. Finally, the blood stopped.

"Scarlet, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to..." Dick said, as Bruce picked Scarlet up again. She leaned her head on her foster father's shoulder, eyes closing.

"It's alright, Dickey. It was an accident." she said quietly. Dick was crying slightly, he was so upset about what he'd done, and Bruce turned to him.

"Dick, I want you to go in up to your room and I'll be there to talk with you in a minute." Bruce said firmly.

Dick nodded, darting one last glare at Scarlet before heading upstairs.

"Mmmm..." Sparrow muttered into Bruce's shoulder, and Bruce had to smile slightly. All the excitement had tired his five year old out, and he gently laid her down in bed, placing the covers over her and rubbing her back until she fell asleep. Bruce smiled at her slightly before standing to go to Dick's room. He knew the boy felt horrible- he'd kept apologizing, and Bruce had a feeling Dick had somehow caused the injury...

He found Dick sniffling on his bed. "Care to explain what happened to me?" he asked, and Dick sat up, nodding.

"I... I was putting googly eyes on Oscar... and Sparrow went to try and straighten them... I thought she was going to mess him up and I guess I just threw Oscar... I expected to grab a couch pillow or something soft Dad, honest! I didn't mean to hurt her..." Dick started crying again, and Bruce placed a hand on his son's shoulder and allowed to boy to cry himself dry.

"It's alright Dick. Accidents happen. But you need to remember to be careful, Scarlet is a lot smaller than you..."

Dick sniffed and nodded. "Is she... is she alright?" he asked.

"She's fine. She's taking a nap now, everything tired her out. I understand it was an accident, and I won't punish you since you really are sorry... Why don't you stay up here to calm down a little. Scarlet doesn't blame you either, she knows accidents happen. Alright, Dick?"

"Alright. If... if she wakes up... tell her I'm sorry again, will ya?" Dick asked, wiping his eyes.

Bruce smiled. "I will, Dick. Come down when you feel like it." Bruce said, before leaving and sighing, He checked in on Scarlet to find the girl sleeping soundly and smiled. Being Batman was nothing compared with the duties of being a father.  
_

Sparrow dodged a thug's punch that same night as they were on patrol. Despite her earlier bloody nose, she'd pleaded enough and Bruce had allowed her to go on patrol. Only Batman was paying far more attention to Sparrow than he should've been- a thug grabbed him and pushed him down, getting on top of the dark knight, knife blade held at his throat...

Dick moved to take out the guard harassing Sparrow, who dodged forward hurriedly. Batman had a firm grip on his attacker's wrist and was struggling to keep the knife from slitting his throat...

Sparrow grabbed the first thing she could and threw it, and it collided with he thug's head. He fell to the ground, unconscious...

"Daddy!" Sparrow ran to her father, who got to his feet.

"I'm alright, Sparrow." Batman said. Sparrow nodded, dropping to her knees and searching the ground. "Rocky did it! He saved your life, Dad!" she said, holding up the rock proudly. "I chucked him at that guy's head and he whacked him good!"

"See Oscar, you should be more like Rocky!" Robin had come over now and was chastising his own pet rock, and Batman smiled sightly as he shook his head, wondering what he'd started.


	15. Bats

**Sorry this is short, it's just sort of a little drabble of how Sparrow likes the bats in the batcave and Bruce is protective.** Please review!

Rocky was an alright pet, but Bats were way better, Sparrow figured. There was a reason she went outside every night that spring to catch moths and worms, and there was a reason why she slipped into the bat cave late at night as well.

One day Bruce followed her, curious as to what she did. She ignored all the high tech crime fighting instruments and the bat mobile, instead choosing to walk up to the section of the cave where the bats roosted, her bug catcher filled with moths in tow.

"Hi guys." she smiled up at the bats, who squeaked in reply. One fluttered down and landed on her shoulder, squeaking insistently as he pressed his wet nose against her face...

"Oh Luke..." She held up a moth and the bat seized it, eating it quickly and looking expectant. "Hang on, Luke. I have to feed the others..." She opened her bug catcher and the moths and butterflies flew out into the air. Instantly the bats screeched, sonar detecting all kinds of tasty bugs in the cave... Bruce watched as the bats swooped, knowing his childhood fear of them was gone. They chased down every single moth, and a few alighted on Sparrow, sitting on her shoulders like parrots. She held out worms, which they quickly devoured, before simply allowing her to stroke them. Finally, they alighted to go and hunt more moths in the dusk, and Sparrow was left to stare after them, smiling slightly.

"Bats..." she mumbled.

"Alfred, I want every single one of those bats vaccinated against rabies. We have children around here now, I don't want there to be any accidents to happen..." Bruce said firmly as he watched his baby girl from a distance.

"Of course, master Bruce." Alfred said, slightly proud Bruce was this protective.

"Bats..." Bruce muttered, shaking his head. "I should've known the kid would find some way to domesticate them..." but secretly, he was proud.


	16. Christmas

**Decided to do a chappy about christmas at the wayne house! Please enjoy and review!**

"Tati! Wake up Tati!" Sparrow squealed, jumping on Bruce. "It's christmas!"

"Christmas!" Dick agreed, jumping on Bruce as well. "Come on Bruce, wake up!"

"Mmmrfff..." Bruce's eyes opened to see two little faces peering down at him.

"Merry Christmas, Bruce!" they both yelled in unison, and Bruce had to smile.

"Merry Christmas, you two. Did you go see what santa left you?" Bruce asked.

"Not without you, silly! Come on!" Sparrow grabbed Bruce's hand and they all ran to the stairs, Bruce laughing slightly at their excitement. They both leaped onto the banister, siding down it in their stockinged feet and leaping off...

"Santa came, Santa came!" Dick cheered, and Sparrow stared at the tree they'd all decorated, now surrounded by presents.

Alfred cheerily set up the camera so they could film the children's first christmas at the Wayne manor, smiling at the childlike excitement.

"Now, who wnts to open first?" Bruce asked. "You do!" Sparrow sang, and Dick quickly handed him a box wrapped in the comics from the newspaper.

"You two didn't have to get me anything..." Bruce said.

"Open it, Bruce." Dick urged. Bruce was touched they'd actually get him something, and he opened it to find a hand-painted mug that read, BEST DAD EVER.

Bruce smiled. "I love it. Thanks, you two."

"You're welcome!" they chorused. "Alfred's turn!" Sparrow announced, holding up a small box.

"Why I never... you shouldn't have!" Alfred said, looking rather surprised as he came out from behind the camera.

"Just open it, Alfie!" Sparrow said, bouncing in the balls of her feet with excitement. Alfred carefully peeled back the paper...

"Cufflinks! Why thank you! How on earth did you know I was needing new ones?" Alfred asked.

Dick shrugged. "Sparrow said it should be something fancy..."

"And what says fancy more dan cufflinks?" Sparrow asked, and everyone chuckled at her cuteness. "Thank you very much, Masters..." Alfred said, truly touched.  
"They weren't the only nes that got you something, Alfred." Bruce said, handing the butler a box.

"Master Bruce, there really was no need..." Alfred said, looking quite flustered.

"Don't thank him until after you open it, Alfie!" Dick admonished, and everyone laughed again. Alfred opened it to reveal several historical novel's he'd been intent on buying himself...

"How?" Alfred asked, looking shocked. Bruce smiled. "I'm Batman." was all he said.

Sparrow looked around and found a gift addressed to Dick, nudging it towards him, Bruce watched, slightly confused, until he saw the childish attempt at wrapping Sparrow had made and realized she'd gotten it for Dick...

Dick stared. "For me?" he asked, and Sparrow nodded, eyes shining as she bounced silently in excitement.

Dick pulled off the paper and found...

"Batman comics issue number 771! How on earth did you find it!?" Dick asked, and Sparrow giggled. "The internet, silly."

"I... thanks!" Dick said, hugging her before handing her a present that had dick's careful attempt at being wrapped. She tore into it, opening the shoebox to reveal... A batman plushie. She squealed in delight, pulling it out and hugging him. "It's so squishy!" she yelled, and everyone laughed.

"Here, Dick..." Bruce handed his son a large box and Dick opened it, staring...

"The new hot wheels set! Thanks, Bruce!" Dick lunged at Bruce, hugging him, and Bruce smiled, ruffling his hair. "No problem, Dick."

Bruce handed Sparrow a box next, and she tore it open, grinning at the remote control plane. "Thanks, Bruce!"

And so the morning went, leaving both Bruce and Alfred to smile as the children finished opening gifts and started trying to assemble the gifts. They'd gotten up at five in the morning, and by noon Dick was flying the plane scarlet had got, since both siblings had been intent on sharing their gifts, and Scarlet was curled up amidst all the wrapping paper shreds, asleep, thumb in her mouth, holding her Batman plushie. Bruce smiled. It hd been the best christmas in years.


	17. Enter Kid Flash

**This is the first of many misadventures featuring Wally (kid flash from the young justice universe who is flash's nephew) Robin, and Sarrow. Please review!**

"Tati, whose that?" Sparrow asked, ducking to hide in the folds of the dark knight's cape. Batman looked across the hallway of the watchtower, by the large window. There, looking out at Space and Earth below, was Flash and... a kid?

The kid turned and saw them, zipping over with super speed.

"Hi! I'mkidflash! Nicetameetya!" Kid Flash said, oumoing Robin's hand up and down quickly.

"Robin." Dick said, indicating himself.

"Whoosethat?" Kid Flash asked, his words blending together at an insane speed. Flash zipped over to be beside his nephew, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Slow down, Wally." He ordered.

"Oh, right." Kid Flash said, words for nce not jumbled.

"I said, whose that?" Kid Flash pointed to Sparrow, who was peering out from under Batman's cape.

"My sister, Sc-I mean, Sparrow." Robin said. Sparrow peered out from the cape shyly, waving to kid flash.

Kid waved back. "Nice to meet you? Do you talk?"

"Yes." Sparrow said quietly.

"Are you shy?"

"No..." Sparrow said.

"Don't let the quiet voice fool you. Come on, let's go play." Robin said.

Sparrow peeled herself off f Batman's leg, looking interested.

"You have superspeed?" she asked.

Kid nodded. "Sure do."

"Piggy back?" Sparrow asked, lifting her arms up and indicating she wanted to be held.

"Sure." Wally grinned, hefting her slight frame onto his back.

"See ya at the training room!" Wally yelled, speeding off with the smallest bird clinging to his back. Robin grinned and raced after them. It was going tok be fun, having another kid at the watchtower...

"Flash, if he hurts either of them I will take him apart." Batman said, and Flash gulped.

"So, what are your superpowers?" Wally asked, looking from one face to another.

"Crazy good acrobatics." Robin said, feeling slightly self-conscious he and his sister had no powers.

"Show me?" Wally asked, looking interested. Robin nodded, doing a double backflip and back handspring after back handspring, a few lay outs, and landing in a perfect split.

"Wow..." Wally stared, and as he did Sparrow vaulted off the ground, doing a handstand off the speedster's shoulders before doing a triple backflip off, doing at least ten back handsprings before landing in a split as well.

"Anything else?" Wally asked.

"Trapeze." Sparrow grinned, scrambling up onto the platform of the trapeze in the training room.

"Wait up, Sparrow." Robin climbed up the opposite ladder.

"Wait! Don't you want me to put out the training net!?" Kid called up.

"Nah! We don't need it!" Robin called. Kid felt himself stiffen slightly, afraid this arrogance would end in one of them dying. But he could probably run and catch them in time... Probably...

An eerie cackle filled the air, one that was a bit fear inspiring, but joyful...

Wally soon realized the refusal of the net wasn't arrogance- only proof of their confidence. Sparrow's hands left the bar and she flipped twice, Dick catching her expertly and sending her flipping back to her on trapeze...

Time went by like that, Wally watching in awe as each time Sparrow flipped to her brother she did a different stunt, sometimes Robin catching her hands, sometimes her feet, but always swinging and laughing while she was in the air...

Robin never swung to Sparrow, afraid his weight would be too much for the smaller girl to bear, and eventually Sparrow flipped back onto her platform, giving Robin both trapezes for his work. That was when the real show began.

"They training again?" Kid looked over in awe to see none other than Superman standing beside him. The man of steel smiled slightly at Kid's wonder-filled eyes.

"Robin's pretty good- even I can't fly like that." Superman pointed as Robin did a triple flip from one bar to the other, grace and agility clearly pronounced...

"All yours, Sparrow!" Robing called over to her as he flipped back onto his own platform. While not as skilled as her brother, Sparrow was still a sight to behold, flipping and twisting in the air as nimbly as he bird after which she was named.

"Better come on down, you two. Don't want to wear out the trapeze." Superman called up.

"Uncle Clark!" both birds said n unison. They'd been s wrapped up in the trapeze they hadn't even noticed the man of steel watching him.

"Hi uncle Clark!" Sparrow waved in mid air, then grabbed the trapeze bar, flipping back around and onto her original platform. Both she and Robin slid down the ladders, running to the man of steel and hugging him.

"How was the mission?" Robin asked. "See any aliens?"

"A few." Superman said, smiling at their obvious excitement as he hugged them back.

"Any new stories to tell?" Sparrow asked excitedly, swinging on his arm like it was a bar.

"Not really, it was just a boring diplomatic mission." Superman said, smiling as she flipped away.

"Anyways, Diana came back with me, and she's dying to see you two. Just thought I'd give you a warning." Clark said, smiling slightly. "Thanks." Sparrow chirped.

"Whose Diana?" Kid asked, looking confused as Superman walked away.

"Wonder Woman." Robin said. "She's really nice, but her hugs are a little... strong."

"So, what can you do besides super speed?" Sparrow asked.

Kid flushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, actually... nothing yet. I'm still learning to control my super speed."

"That's alright. It's awesome you even have super speed." Robin jumped in.

"You really think so?" Wally asked, and both birds nodded.

"Thanks you guys."

"No problem, KF." Robin said.

"KF?" Kid asked, looking confused.

"Short for Kid Flash, if you want." Robin said, and Kid smiled. "Yeah, I like it."

"Robin, Diana's coming!" Sparrow whispered. "She's going to give us a super hug!"

"Run!" Robin whispered back, and all three children darted out of the training room.

"Where to now?" Robin asked Kid, looking expectant.

Kid shrugged. "How about the cafeteria? I'm starving."

"Do you have a super fast metab-meta-metabol-metabolism?" Sparrow finally got the word out, and Kid Flash nodded. "Sure do." they all raced off towards the cafeteria, Kid Flash, of course, arriving there first.

They munched on oreos and Teddy Grahams, and Kid looked over at his new found companions.

"So, how old are you guys?" Kid asked.

"I'm nine." Dick said. "I'm six and one twelfth." Sparrow said proudly, and Kid grinned.

"Happy late birthday, then. I'm ten." he said simply, shoving another oreo into his mouth.

"Want to watch a movie?" Sparrow asked when they were finished. Robin nodded, S did KF, and Sparrow chose a video and put it in the old VCR.

"Which one did you choose?" Robin asked. Sparrow shrugged. "I have no idea. I just put one in."

The movie was obviously taped from a TV channel, as there was no title, only starting with a few opening lines. It all seemed pretty ordinary, until the first person was killed. And the second. And third. They were all horrified, but they had o see how it ended. It was so... creepy...

Batman walked in to see the three children clinging one another as the last scenes of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre played.

"Flash!" he yelled.

"So creepy..." Sparrow muttered, clinging to Robin as a shudder rippled through her.

"Well, if I had to be scared half to death today, I'm glad I could do it with you guys." Robin said. And so the odd friendship began.


	18. Meet the Joker

**DreamweaverAki, this is for you, Sorry if the dialouge is a little different than in the sequel, the second bird, but I had to fit it all in...**

"D-dad... I don't feel so good..." Dick admitted, sneezing slightly. Bruce felt the boy's forehead- he was definitely hot.

"You're warm. What hurts, Dick?" Bruce asked, kneeling down so he was eye level with the pale boy.

"My throat and my head." Dick said without hesitation. He broke into a wet coughing fit, and Bruce gathered the sick boy into his arms, carrying him up to his room. He put the thermometer in the boy's mouth and waited for it to beep, getting out the children's tylenol and reading the dosage before pouring it for Dick.

The thermometer beeped- 101.9*. Definitely a fever.

"I want you to rest for the night, alright, Dick?"

Dick nodded, taking his tylenol gratefully before leaning back. Suddenly he sat up.

"What about Sparrow? S-she can't go on patrol without me to watch her..."

Bruce was already thinking of that. "Don't worry, Dick, I'll take care of it. Now rest." Bruce ordered, placing a wet wash cloth on the boy's forehead before leaving.

Sparrow was already getting her costume on, excited, as she always was, for the night's patrol. Bruce didn't know what he was going to do or say to her. He didn't want her out on patrol with only him- he always trusted Dick as an extra set of eyes, and with him sick he certainly didn't want Sparrow out in patrol... she was too young, too inexperienced...

"Hey Tati, I'm ready." Sparrow said, looking excited. Batman looked at the computer- it was beeping- and answered Commissioner Gordon's call.

"Yes, commissioner?"

"The Joker's broken out of Arkham."

"Got it. Batman out." he killed the communication and turned t Sparrow.

"Stay behind."

"What?" Sparrow looked crestfallen, but Batman brushed it off, He didn't have time for this.

"Dick is sick, Joker's just broken out... I can't have you tonight. I'm sorry, Sparrow."

She turned and ran away, probably heading off to cry, and Batman sighed. He'd try and make amends later...

He got int the Bat mobile and sped out of the Bat cave, parking the vehicle n it's normal place behind an old warehouse. Snow dotted the ground, and Batman was glad his thermal uniform protected him from the mid January cold. He stood to go, on high alert for any funny business (no pun intended) from the Joker.

As soon as he'd scaled a fire escape the trunk of the bat mobile popped open, and Sparrow dusted herself off, closing the trunk before vaulting onto the fire escape and silently shadowing her father. There was no way she trusted Bruce to patrol by himself- he could get hurt, and he might need her... She'd already lost one set of parents, and there was no way she was going to loose Bruce.

Batman, incredibly, didn't notice his littlest protege, so intent was he on finding the Joker. Still, he saw a small mugging going down and jumped down to help. That was when Sparrow saw the other thugs approaching from an alley to ambush her father. She jumped to head them off, but they saw her shadow, and a gun went off.

She screamed- it was the first time she'd been shot- but the bullet hit the kevlar, and she recovered herself quick enough to dodge another bullet, racing out of the alley, away from Batman, hoping to draw them away.

"Come on! She's wounded. Let's finish her." One of the men audibly said, and the raced after her. Sparrow ducked a punch and took one man down, fight fueled by the pure terror of being killed and the thought of Bruce having to find her body...

Trick streamers suddenly exploded around them, startling her...

"It's the Joker! Let's go!" the men dropped their guns and fled in terror, and Sparrow, still scared, snatched a pistol from the ground and backed against a door, using the doorway as a slight alcove, breathing heavy and fear clouding all rational thought...

Batman, meanwhile, had heard his daughter's scream and the shot and put two and two together. His baby was here, possibly wounded, with the Joker running around Gotham...

"She's wounded. Let's finish her."

He heard the thugs say. Batman fought desperately, but like it or not, these thugs were taking too long to finish...

Snow swirled around outside the alcove, and Sparrow fingered the gun, terrified, waiting. The snow was like stardust, swirling in stark contrast to the dark night and suddenly the man himself was revealed, pasty white face and red lips with green hair...

"Stay back!" she yelled, fingering the gun.

"Relax. I won't hurt you, see...?" the Joker said, voice sticky sweet. Sparrow remembered how he'd kidnapped her as Scarlet Grayson and shuddered...

"You can keep the gun. I came here to see you. You must be pretty special to Batsy if he wanted to keep you from me."

"D-don't come any closer..." Sparrow said, teeth chattering and tears of fear starting to fall.

"Aww kid, don't cry. I hate crying. I like laughs. That's my goal in life, to make the bat laugh..." he pulled out a rubber ducky and set it beside her.

She was about to shot him when he squeezed it, and it squeaked.

"It isn't booby trapped, kid. Now, I just wanted to tell you all that before Batsy plants any convoluted theories in your head." the Joker pulled off his purple suit coat and draped it around his shoulders.

"Have a good night, kid." and he walked away.

"Sparrow!" Batman tore through the alley and snatched up his little bird. "Are you hurt?" she shook her head, clinging to her father and remaining completely unaware that she was still wrapped in the Joker's coat.

But even now, as she felt incredibly sick from being in the cold too long and Bruce scolded her about how reckless she'd been, but mainly he was only just grateful she was alright. Why Joker hadn't slit her throat on the spot, he didn't know.

But even as Sparrow laid in bed, wrapped in blankets in an attempt to ward off the chills, she found herself wondering- could the Joker be saved?


	19. Enter Roy

**Alright, this is Roy's debut in my story. Enjoy and review!**

"Sparrow, the Joker is basket case. There is no way he can be redeemed." Dick said, sighing. He had since recovered from his cold, but Sparrow was now down for the count after her encounter with the Joker two days ago.

"If he's so crazy, then how come he didn't kill me right away?" Sparrow asked. Bruce was downstairs hosting a party, pretending to be a playboy again. Sometimes it seemed only they knew the soft side of the billionaire.

Dick sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That's just it. He's unpredictable and insane- it's what makes him so dangerous. I don't know why he didn't kill you, but I do know this- you were lucky. Bruce said I have to come down at least once, since I'm not sick. I'll be back in ten minutes, alright?"

"Alright." Sparrow nodded and Dick left. She sighed- she hated getting colds, but then again, it was better than being at the stupid party. She hated having a father who had to fake being a playboy, but she didn't say anything to him. Se knew Bruce disliked it as well, and didn't want to make him feel bad. Besides, he' already come upstairs to check on her three times, she knew he loved her. This was just one of those things they had to do.

The door opened a crack, and she looked up, surprised. "Tati?" she asked hopefully.

"Hello." A man in a tuxedo with slick brown hair and green eyes entered the room, smiling.

"Oh- hi. I thought you were my Tati." Sparrow said, eyes growing downcast again.

"Scarlet, can I ask you some questions?" the man asked, eyes serious.

"N-no... Tati says I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." Sparrow said getting a little afraid. She didn't like this strange man in her bedroom.

He whipped out a notepad. "Is this really your room? Do you really have your own bed?"

"Yeah..." she was confused, why was he asking this. "Can you leave me alone?"

He ignore her, writing down more things. "Does Bruce ever hit you? Does he love you?"

"Are you saying my Daddy's mean!?" Sparrow demanded. "I don't like you, get out! Get out now!" she yelled, sitting up in bed.

The man moved forward, grabbing her arm tightly. "Look kid, I want a story, and I want a good one. I don't care if you don't like my questions, brat, but you'll answer them..."

"Let me go! I'll hurt you!" Sparrow screamed.

The reporter chuckled. "I'd like to see you try, brat."

That was when the door burst open.  
_

Roy Harper sighed, bored. He didn't see why Ollie had insisted he come to this boring party of Bruce Wayne's anyways- then again, being a rich man's ward meant you had to do crap- like dress up in a tux and come to these stupid events.

He'd long since been bored of the other thirteen year old snobby girls practically throwing themselves at him, and he stuck his hands in his pockets as he aimlessly wandered the Wayne Manor.

He trailed his finger on the bust of some long dead greek scholar- no dust at all. The butler really was amazing... Suddenly he heard it. A scream in the distance.

"Are you saying my Daddy's mean!? I don't like you! Get out! Get out, now!" it was a girl's voice, followed by a low baritone he couldn't hear. He could tell the words being shared weren't nice, and he had already started running towards the voices.

"Let me go! I'll hurt you!" the girl screamed.

Roy had almost reached the door by now when he heard the man's laughter and reply. "I'd like to see you try, brat."

That did it. Roy kicked open the door, the red head's eyes an inferno of age. Both the reporter and the girl, who could only be around five, looked at him, the reporter shocked, the girl scared.

"She said to go." Roy said.

"I was just visiting her to be sure she was alright..." the reporter said, fluffing the pillows.

"Bull crap." Roy said, staring the man down. "I already thought you were a sleaze ball the moment I saw you, but harassing a kid, really? You asked for it." Roy cracked his knuckles and stepped forward. The reporter's eyes showed fear, even though he was a head taller than Roy, he was a coward. Roy's fist sent the man staggering back, and he followed it with another that gave the reporter a bloody nose.

"Don't meddle, kid!" the reporter snarled, suddenly angry this kid had hit him. He threw two well aimed punches, and Roy staggered and slammed into the girl's dresser...

"I said get out!" Sparrow yelled, emboldened by Roy's courage. She moved too fast to see, sweeping out the man's legs from under him and pouncing, punching his face like he was just another thug on the street. The difference was she wasn't in costume.

Roy stared as he got his bearings. How could one little kid be so... ferocious?

The man threw a punch she couldn't dodge that sent her into the wall and got Roy ticked off times ten. This guys was a total jerk. Roy slammed his fist into his face, knocking him unconscious.

"You alright?" Roy asked, running over to her, but the girl was already brushing herself off. "Thanks for the help." she said, smiling.

"No problem..." she stuck out her hand. "Scarlet Grayson. But you can call me Sparrow, everyone else does."

Roy nodded, shaking her small hand. "Roy Harper. Got anyplace I can dump this jerk? A backdoor, maybe?"

Sparrow nodded, guiding him by the hand to the back door, where Roy unceremoniously deposited the man's unconscious form on the ground, turning and locking the door as Sparrow broke out coughing.

The fit lasted for around a minute, and Sparrow was left gasping for breath.

"Say, you alright, kid? You don't look so good..." Roy placed a hand on her forehead and pulled back to find her burning up.

"I'll be... fine... I was sick before he came in, anyways..." Sparrow said, staring towards her room but looking somewhat shaky. Roy resisted the urge to carry her, since she'd just had a bad encounter with a stranger and he didn't want to frighten her more...

"So you weren't at the party because you're sick?" Roy asked.

She nodded. A question came out of his mouth before Roy could stop it. "And your Dad, Bruce, just left you alone in your room?"

"No. He's been up to see me three times. You don't know the half of what he does, how would you know anything? He does care!" she said, before doubling over in another coughing fit...

"Woah, I'm sorry, kid, take it easy..." Roy rubbed her back until the fit subsided, and she nodded to him. "Thanks..."

"Scarlet!" the nervous voice drifted down the corridor...

"Tati!"

Bruce Wayne rushed over to the girl and scooped her up. "I thought someone had kidnapped you..."

"Nope. Some jerky reporter..." Sparrow started, but broke out coughing again. Bruce felt her forehead and his brow creased. "I'm calling Dr. Leslie up here." He announced.

"You should've seen him, Tati. Roy beat the crap outta the guy..."

Suddenly Bruce and Oliver Queen, who'd been walking with Bruce to come and meet Scarlet, noticed Roy. "You did what?" Bruce asked, looking interested.

Roy studied his boots and shrugged. "Some reporter was harassing her so I gave him what he had coming. Scarlet did most of the facial damage." Roy said. "The kid sure can fight..."

"Not now, Roy, Bruce has to go get the doctor for Scarlet." Oliver said quickly, trying to divert his ward's attention from Scarlet's combat skill.

"Bye Roy..." Scarlet said hoarsely, waving from where she clung to Bruce's front like a baby Koala.

"Bye kid." Roy said, waving. Bruce hadn't even thanked him for saving the girl- but in a way, he was glad- his hovering and concern in getting the doctor showed he really did care for the girl. Besides, he had an inkling Scarlet could've taken down the reporter by herself, if need be.

"Ollie- how?" Roy asked as they left Bruce to be with Scarlet.

"How what?" Ollie asked, failing miserably at hiding the fact he knew something.

"How does a kid like Scarlet Grayson, daughter of Bruce Wayne, have the combat knowledge of a Navy SEAL?" Roy asked.

Oliver sighed. "She was raised in a circus, things there were probably rough..."

"Don't give me that crap, Ollie, you're hiding something from me, and I know it."

Oliver sighed. "You'll learn soon enough."

And Roy did learn when, a week later, he was introduced to the Justice League as Speedy.

"These are the other sidekicks we have in training. Wally West- Kid Flash. Robin, and Sparrow."

"Roy!" Sparrow launched herself at Roy, who caught her thanks to his reflexes and smiled.

"We've met before, have we not?" he asked teasingly.

"You know it! I can't believe you're a hero too!" Sparrow grinned. Roy suddenly saw where Scarlet had gained her knowledge of combat. He noted Dick, no, he was Robin, watching them with interest.

Batman stepped forward. "Sparrow- trapeze- now." Batman ordered.

"Yes Daddy." Sparrow scampered off to the trapeze set and Roy met Batman's batglare.

"What? I hugged her. I'm not some thug whose going to try and shoot her." Roy said.

"I know. You give away her or Robin's identity, you're dead." Batman growled.

"How low do you think I am?" Roy asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't assume things, Roy Harper. I know more about you than you now. Just don't hurt my children, and I won't hurt you." Batman said, before walking out.

"Hey Roy, up here!" Sparrow flipped from trapeze bar to trapeze bar almost effortlessly, and Roy gaped. How the heck did the girl do that?

"Get over here!" Roy looked up to see Robin hanging upside down on the opposite bar, and Sparrow swung to her brother, doing a triple flip before returning to her own bar. Wally ran over to stand beside Roy.

"Crazy, aren't they?" he asked.

Roy just nodded dumbly. That day he learned to never underestimate the Bats.


	20. The First of Many Incidents

**Okay, some bro/sis bonding with Roy, Dick, Wally, and Scarlet. If you want more, review! Oh, do you guys think Sparrow is becoming too much the focus or that her skills are too much? I've been trying not to make her a Mary Sue (google it if you don't know what I'm talking about) and I think she needs some more issues to keep her from being too perfect. All suggestions will be considered! Thanks again, and please review!**

"Roy!" Sparrow ran over and lunged at the archer,who caught her and returned the hug.

"Hey birdie..."

"Hi Roy..." Robin bounced over and Roy ruffled the boy's hair. "Hey, kid."

"Guys! UncleBarrybroughtmeheretoplay!" Wally babbled almost unintelligibly, and Roy rolled his eyes. "Great. Another kid to add to the collection."

"Relax, Roy, we'll be here..." Green Arrow said, just as the alert went off.

"Mutant monster attacking Star City. Looks like you'll need help, Flash." Batman said.

Green Arrow nodded. "Sorry, kid..."

"Sorry? What happened to we'll be here!?" Roy demanded, slightly panicked that Ollie was leaving him here with all these kids...

"Just use common sense, Roy. You're in charge." Ollie said, and Batman turned to his own children.

"Be good," he ordered.

"Auli, Tati." (yes, daddy) they both said in unison, and Batman smiled slightly beneath his cowl- he'd caught himself doing that a lot more lately...

"Um, I hate to butt in, but we have to go." Flash said. With that, they all rushed to the zeta tubes and were gone.

Roy walked over the computer. There had to be some leaguer here who could help him watch these kids... He checked the status. Everyone with either off-world or busy at the moment. Roy stared. "Really? Really, Ollie? I can barely take care of myself, let alone three kids..." he mumbled. He stood and felt Scarlet's small hand in his own and sighed, looking down at her and letting his face soften.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Roy asked, wondering how to occupy three small children.

"Hey look! A fly!" Wally pointed to a fly that was buzzing by...

"How did a fly get up in the watchtower?" Roy asked.

"He probably flew into one of he zeta tubes. Let's get it!" Robin yelled. And with that, all three children were scampering after it.

"Well that was easy..." Roy muttered, following the children who were dashing after the fly.

"Kill it, kill it!" Wally sang as Sparrow dove for it but missed.

It landed on a counter and Robin tried to slap it, but it flew off before the could happen. Wally used his super speed to try and snatch it out of the air only to fair and run into a wall.

Sparrow grabbed a spray bottle, chasing it down but ultimately tripping, and Robin came up behind it with two pot lids, crashing them like cymbals but missing. Roy watched the scene unfold, smiling slightly.

"It's escaping the main room!" Robin yelled.

"I got this!" Wally yelled. They raced after the fly, trapping it in the kitchen. It landed on a cupboard and Wally missed it.

"Darn it!" he yelled. "I got it! I got it!" Robin flew forwards, but the fly got between his fingers and escaped. Roy sniggered. Watching this was like a real Tom and Jerry cartoon. They kept at it, until finally, the fly landed beside Roy on the burner of the stainless steel stove.

Roy turned the burner on high and the surface started to heat up, the lights under it going red to show it was getting hotter...

"Wow..." The kids had gathered round by now, and the fly had not idea what hit it before it shriveled into a try, charred ball on the burner and disintegrated.

"Cool!" Robin high fived Wally, and they grinned at Roy. "Good idea, man."

Roy shrugged, but it felt good to have helped them...

"So, what do we d now, Roy?" Sparrow asked, looking expectant.

Roy looked at the clock, realizing they'd spent a half an hour chasing a fly...

"Why don't you go find me some marbles?" Roy asked, figuring they'd never find any.

"Sure Roy! Let's go!" Sparrow turned, dashing down the hall with Wally and Robin behind her. Roy smiled, feeling slightly guilty for tricking them that way, but it would keep them busy and out of trouble...

"You sure Superman has marbles, Robin?" Wally asked as Robin hacked into the door control of Superman's room. He didn't know the access code, but Batman had been teaching him to hack...

"Superman has all kinds of toys in here." Robin said, and the door slid open.  
"Wow..." Wally and Dick looked around Superman's room, surprised. He had pictures of his family up on the wall and a Superman poster or two, as well as action figures of every hero in the justice league...

"He keeps his toys in the top drawer, I think." Robin said, and he and Wally were so busy trying to find marbles they didn't notice Sparrow, who'd found a dark green velvet pouch on the dresser, and opened it on the floor. Colorful marbles spilled out, and Roy started down the hallway, wondering where the kids were...

Sparrow selected a blue marble that looked like a gum ball and popped it into her mouth...

Roy stared. Had Sparrow really just put a marble into her mouth? "Sparrow! Spit that out!" he yelled, but he startled her and she swallowed...

"Sparrow?" Robin and Wally turned to see Roy grab Sparrow.

"No... tell me you didn't eat it!" Roy pleaded.

Wally and Robin put two and two together and gasped.

"Sparrow! How many times have I told you not to eat things that are not foods!" Robin said.

Roy paled. "Bats is gonna kill me..."

"I thought they were candy." Sparrow squeaked, looking scared.

"What did it taste like?" Wally asked, curious.

"Not now Wally! She could die!" Roy yelled, panicking.

"I don't wanna die!" Sparrow said, starting to cry.

"I don't want you to die either..." Robin said, getting teary eyed. "Stop dying!" Wally yelled. In an instantly all three children were crying...

"Stop crying!" Roy ordered, trying to calm them down. He wasn't calm, either, but all the crying wasn't helping him think... "No one is going to die!"

They all looked up at him, sniffling. "Really?"

"Yeah, really..." Roy lied. "Everyone wait in the main room..." he said, and they all ran out, Roy quickly doing the only thing he could think of- googling the situation.

He read all he reports and relaxed. "Alright, alright, no one is going to die. You should crap it out eventually. New rule. No one eats anything without asking first." Roy said, calming down.

"Alright. We should probably go pick up the rest of Superman's marbles..."

Roy paled again. "Superman? Those were Superman's marbles?" he asked.

Robin nodded. "We knew he had marbles, so we hacked into the computer to let us into his room..."

"You hacked!?" Roy said.

"Yeah..." Robin said, looking undisturbed.

"Well what if Superman notices one of his marbles are missing!? Change into your civilian clothes, we have to go somewhere." Roy said decidedly.

Five minutes later they zetaed to Star City, walking towards the Star City Mall. Thankfully it was on the other end of town than he giant mutant monster was, so they didn't have to worry about their mentors...

"Look! A doggie!" Sparrow said, pointing in the pet shop window.

"We're not here for pets, Sparrow." Roy said, leading her away. "We're here for marbles."

"Right." Sparrow nodded, trying to look serious, and Robin, no, Dick, now that he was out of his Robin clothes, took her hand.

"I want everyone to stay together..." Roy ordered as they headed towards the toy store.

"The toy store!" Wally yelled and pointed, and all the kids took off running. Roy stared. He'd just managed to loose three sidekicks in less than one minute, That had to be a new record.

"Wally! Scarlet! Dick! Where are you?" he asked, desperate. He noticed a bag of marbles and grabbed them, looking around nervously for the kids. He noticed Scarlet had climbed on top of one of the large shelves and fallen asleep, and he smiled slightly. She looked like an angel while she was asleep... Roy carefully climbed up, despite the looks a mom with a child eager to try and do the same thing he was gave her, and carried Scarlet down. She was still asleep, thumb in her mouth, looking so cute...

"One down, two to go." Roy thought, satisfied. He found Dick and Wally playing with the action figures. "Time to go you two." Roy ordered.

"Aww, but we just got here, Roy." Wally whined.

"I know. We're leaving before you can cause anymore damage." Roy said simply, paying for the marbles before heading back towards the zeta tube station. Just then a man emerged from the shadows of the alley, smiling at them.

"Kid's shouldn't be out this late, you know." he said, and Roy say the glint of a knife in his hand. He felt his rage bubble over. He could take being threatened personally,, but when someone dared to threaten Wally, Dick and Scarlet, that was over the line.

In one swift move Roy handed Scarlet to Dick, ducking the man's knife and giving him a good uppercut to the jaw, grabbing his wrist and squeezing until he dropped the knife, clocking him again on the face before slamming him into the wall and letting him slump to being unconscious.

"Do not mess with my family." Roy hissed, before he dusted himself off. He turned t see Scarlet, Dick, and Wally all staring at him, wide eyed.

Roy looked at his watch. Eight at night already, They had to get back to the watchtower, now.

"Come on, you guys." he motioned to them, and they all squeezed into the phone booth and zetaed back to the watch tower.

As soon as they were there, Roy had them all sit on the couch in the main room. "Wally, Sparrow, you two stay put Robin, I need you to hack into Superman's room again." Roy ordered. He then inserted the blue marble back into Superman's pouch and placed it on the dresser before he had Robin shut the door.

"Alright, on problem solved." Roy said, sighing in relief.

"Roy, I'm hungry." Robin said, and Roy realized it had been two hours since their mentors left them. He also realized he was hungry, too.

"What do you guys want to eat?" Roy askedSparrow and Wally, who were, surprisingly, still sitting on the couch where he'd left them.

Sparrow thought for a minute. "Grilled cheese!" she said, grinning.

"Yeah, grilled cheese!" Wally and Robin agreed.

Roy smiled slightly. "Grilled cheese it is. How many sandwiches each?"

"One," Sparrow said. "Two." Dick said.

"Seven." Wally said, and Roy stared.

"He's got a fast meta-metab-meta-metabolif-metabolifm..." Sparrow said, botching the word because of her tiredness.

"I get it kid, don't hurt yourself." Roy said, seeing the obvious difficulty she was having with the word.

Roy gave Wally the first sandwich, since he had a fast metabolism, and Sparrow the next, since Dick seemed to be the most patient of the three. The fourth sandwich ignited as Roy was busy pouring chocolate milk while it was cooking, and he panicked.

"Someone get the fire extinguisher!" Roy yelled, holding the flaming frying pan.

"I got it!" Wally yelled, using his suer speed but forgetting to stop and running into the wall.

Luckily there was an airlock in the kitchen.

"Everyone hold onto something!" Dick yelled, hitting the button. The flaming mass that had once been a grilled cheese was sucked out into space, and the four children all clung desperately to something. Dick slammed the button again and the airlock closed. Dick grinned. "No oxygen in space. No oxygen means no fire."

"Nice. Try something a little less dangerous next time, though." Roy said, smoothing his now messy hair back and getting to work making more grilled cheese.

"Can we watch TV?" Sparrow asked, looking too adorable to refuse as Roy made himself a few grilled cheeses.

"Sure. Oh, and Robin, I need you to hack into the league systems again, delete all the security cam footage of what we did today." Roy said as he followed them into the main room and flopped on the couch.

"Already done." Robin said, grinning. Bit he'd saved one copy of the footage for himself, since he had a feeling they'd laugh about this someday.

The leaguers got back at one am, all anxious as to how there proteges had fared. The situation in Star had been a hard fought battle, and had taken even longer to clean up... Leaving Roy with small children for one hour during the daytime was alright, maybe, but leaving him with three small children for six hours during the night was another thing completely.

"Roy?" Ollie called, anxious, though he'd never admit it.

"Found them." Flash called, and Batman and Green Arrow raced int the main room to find all four children curled up on the couch, in front of the TV, which was still on, playing an infomercial about the Shark team mop... Scarlet had crawled onto Roy' lap, and the normally tough redhead looked considerably less hard-core with a six year old in his arms. Dick was leaning against Roy from one side, and Wally from the other...

"They look so precious..." Flash whispered, pulling out a camera and snapping a picture.

"They do look kind of cute..." Batman admitted.

"See, I told you they'd be fine. Roy even made dinner." Green Arrow said, pointing to the bread crusts and plates strewn across the floor.

"I guess we've found some people Roy actually likes, then." Flash said. "Good to know he's trustworthy..."

And that first time all together was the first of many incidents.


	21. Supermarket

**Sorry it's short and drabblish, it's all I could think of, but don't worry, I'll have another chapter up for this story by Friday. Please Review! =D**

"Tati, can I get a candy bar please?" Sparrow asked, holding it up.

Bruce studied her. It wasn't often that he went shopping, much less with his kids, but he also knew chocolate and Sparrow didn't mix well...

"Sorry Sparrow, but no. I don't want you to spoil dinner. Understand?"

Sparrow nodded. "Yeah, I guess..." still, she looked a little disappointed as she set it back on the shelf.

"No! No! No! I waaaannnntttt it!" the girl in line ahead of them exploded, wailing and kicking and screaming, fists pounding whatever they could. The outburst startled Sparrow, and she reacted, clinging to Bruce's leg and climbing up him until she clung to his side like a baby koala bear...

"Why is she doing that?" Sparrow whispered to Bruce, plugging her ears and looking frightened.

"To try and get what she wants..." Bruce explained, holding his baby bird as she stared.

"Is anything really worth humiliating yourself like that?" Sparrow whispered, still watching as the mother tried desperately to calm the screaming child and the man running the check out grit his teeth and beared it.

"No, not really." Bruce said, starting to loading the items onto the conveyer belt as he smiled slightly, realising what a well mannered girl he had...

The girl ahead of them kept wailing and Sparrow looked at Bruce imploringly, before sighing, realising they couldn't leave with so many people behind them, and settling to nestling her head between Bruce's neck and shoulder. Bruce repressed the urge to sigh. The mom ahead of them was vainly trying to silence the child with empty threats, and the girl had moved from throwing herself around to throwing candy bars...

"What a waste of candy bars." Scarlet whispered in his ear. It took all of Bruce's Bat training not to laugh right there. Because Scarlet was so right- it was an awful waist of candy.

"I waaannntttt it!" the girl shrieked, stamping her foot and throwing another candy bar that almost hit Sparrow. The girl ducked at the last moment to avoid taking the crunch bar to the face and resumed burying her face in Bruce's shoulder.

The girl let out the scream of a banshee, and everyone in the store winced. Bruce just sighed, feeling Scarlet tense in his arms. It was funny, how a girl who'd lived most of her life in a circus had better manners than most kids with a steady home...

Finally, the mom finished checking out, dragging her screeching child to the door and leaving a rather relieved supermarket behind them.

Sometimes, Bruce realized, he forgot just how good he had it with Dick and Scarlet.

"Bruce, I got the milk." Dick trotted over with the milk. Bruce had remembered it at the last minute and sent Dick to go and get it.

Dick noted his sister clinging to Bruce and his brow creased.

"What'd I miss?"

"Nothing, Dick, nothing." Bruce assured him. Sparrow climbed onto Bruce's shoulder, perching agilely like a bird before jumping onto Dick, sliding down, hands around his neck. Dick rolled his eyes, grabbing ahold of his sisters legs and carrying her piggy-back as the clerk and the others in line watched, slightly surprised...

Bruce rolled his eyes. He'd grown used to the children's antics and long since realized that just because they left the circus, didn't mean they stopped performing. Bruce left the supermarket with them that day remembering just how lucky he was to have the kids he did. Sure, they were somewhat crazy and hyper-active, making half the parents at the playgrond want to kill them because of the stunts they did in front of the other, impressionable chldren, but so what? It was times like these tha made up for that. They were Graysons, and he wouldn't have it any other way.


	22. Faking Sick

**Okay, this one id based on Dreamweakeraki's review. I didn't want them really faking sick too much, since I couldn't figure out how t portray it, but I'll make up for that in the Second Bird when they need to get out of class for a mission**. Please review follow, and fav!

"Tati, I feel sick..." Dick said, looking at Bruce like a wilted flower. It wassix am, almost time for school...

"You do? Come here..." Bruce felt the boy's forehead to find him hot. "Go lay down. I'll be back in a minute." he went to get the thermometer, and Dock grinned. Good thing he's put the onion under his armpit. It was an old circus trick to get a fever by doing so.

He made sure to cough at exactly the right time so Bruce heard and took some warm water he had in a glass beside his bed, dousing his forehead with it to make it look like sweat.

Bruce's face creased with concern as he handed his son the thermometer. 100.9*, definitely a fever...

"No school for you today." he said. "I'll get you some tylenol..."

"Thanks..." Dick muttered, coughing again. When Bruce returned with the pills, he hid them in his cheek before Bruce left, spitting them out and rushing into the bathroom to drop them in the tolite to dissolve before racing back into bed.

Bruce entered again, nodding to Dick. "Stay home, rest. I'll work from here today."

Dick nodded, not showing how eager he really was. Bruce came in to check on him several times, and each time Dick made sure he was looking progressively better until around twelve...

"Tati, I feel better now." Dick said, striding into the room clad as Robin. Bruce stared. Yes, Dick had been looking better the last time he'd checked on him, but feeling good enough to go out as Robin? And during the middle of the day?

That was when it hit him. He'd been duped. He, the world's greatest detective, had been duped by a nine year old boy...

"Dick, you lied to me." Bruce said, staring at the boy. And his features crumbled.

Bruce picked the boy up and set him on his lap. "Why'd you lie to me, Dickie?"

"B-because... I wanted to stay home and fight crime with you!" Robin said, starting to cry.

"Shhh, shh Dickie bird, it's alright..."

"No it's not alright! You spend all your time teaching Scarlet new stuff and training her! When's the last time you sparred with me?" Dick sobbed, and Bruce stopped dead, realizing everything his son said was true...

"Come on." Bruce led the boy to the batcave, donning his own costume and stepping int the training room with the boy.

Robin wiped his tears. "Y-you're going to spar me?" he asked.

Bruce nodded. "Of course I am. I'm sorry I haven't spent much time with you lately, Dickey, it's just- Scarlet's littler than you, and I worry about her on 's why train her so heavily..."

"I... I know..." Dick said, wiping his tears away with an air of finality about him, now. "Let's go!"

Bruce grinned and fought the boy, slightly surprised at how much he'd improved- he knew he spent a ton of time with Scarlet, yes, but having a six year old girl who tangled with the worst of the worst was hard for anyone to fathom- let alone her own father. So he was constantly worried about his little girl, not paying as much attention to Dick as he should.

That day, Bruce vowed to himself to spend as much time with Dick as Scarlet. It was a decision that made Dock Grayson into the true Boy Wonder.


	23. It begins

**Sorry it's been awhile since I updated, school has been getting hard lately (curse you, AP classes! DX) but I finally got this written. All four of our favorite sidekicks get together in the watchtower, but smething goes amiss and the mentors are left desperate... can they save them? Read on to find out!**

"Wally!" Sparrow jumped into the speedster's arms and grinned, and Wally did, as well.

"Hi Wally." Robin grinned, glad to see his friend again.

"Hey? No hug for me?" Roy asked, stepping out from the shadows.

"Roy!" Sparrow jumped down from Wally and raced over to her oldest brother, jumping into his arms.

"Who still gives the best hugs in the world?" Roy asked.

"Roy does!" Sparrow grinned, and Roy ruffled her hair.

"That's right. Good to see you, birdie." he grinned, With the leaguers here, there'd be no way things could go bad like last time...

"Robin, Sparrow." Batman called quickly. Both children trotted over to their father.

"I have an important meeting, alright. I want you to stay with Roy. Understood?"

"Yes, Tati." Sparrow gave her father a quick peck on the cowl, and Robin hugged his father briefly before he stood to go. As soon as he was gone, they trotted back over to Roy.

"Now, what do you guys want to do?" Roy asked, looking around.

"Let's explore!" Wally stared, and Robin nodded. "Sounds good. Even we don't know all of this place!"

And so it was settled. They explored the ventilation shafts, the game room, the offices, even the control room, where Green Lantern showed them everything, before heading off to explore all the winding corridors...

When they were quite into a game of tag, Sparrow staggered, looking pale.

"R-roy..." she stuttered, looking troubled.

"What's wrong?" Roy asked, instantly seeing something was bothering the little girl...

"I-I don't feel good..." she said, clutching her stomach. Roy, when he'd lived on the Indian reservation, had seen lots of kids get sick and knew what was going to happen before it did, grabbing the trash can and gently nudging it under her as she gagged a few times before starting to retch...

"It's alright, birdie, just let it come..." Roy soothed, guiding her to the bathroom and ditching the trash can for the tolite. He rubbed soothing circles on her back as she continued to retch, puking her guts out...

"I... want Tati..." she choked between fits of vomiting, and Roy nodded to Kid Flash, who stood in the doorway with Robin, unsure what to do. "Get Batman." he ordered, turning back to Sparrow.

"It's alright, birdie, it'll all be over soon..." Roy soothed the girl, and she finally stopped, still kneeling in front of the tolite, sweating and shuddering. "Robin, wet cloth." Roy ordered, allowing the girl to lean against him as he took the cool cloth and dabbed at her face...

"That's it... feel any better?" he asked hopefully.

She shook her head. "Worse. R-roy- I w-want Tati..." the girl dissolved into tears , and Roy nodded. "Don't worry, birdie, he'll be here any minute..."

He just hoped she'd be alright...  
_

Batman had been in the meeting for around two hours when there was a knock on the door.

"We're in a meeting!" Superman called, ever polite.

"It's an emergency!" everyone recognized Wally's nervous voice and the speedster let himself in, looking more than a little scared. He was pale as a ghost, a bit of sweat on his face...

"Wally, what happened?" Flash ran to his nephew.

"Sparrow's really sick! Roy and Robin are with her, but she keeps throwing up and she looks really sick..." suddenly Wally's legs gave out and he collapsed. Flash caught him before he hit the floor, staring at his form. "Wally!" he cried, shocked.

"Get him to the med bay." Superman said, and Flash obeyed. Green Arrow and Batman had run out before Wally's collapse, desperate to find the others, and they tore down the hallway, Batman following a small blip on his communicator.

"East wing." he said, turning with Green Arrow. They had no idea what was going on, but something deep within them told them it was bad...

They grew closer, and heard the sounds of crying mixed with retching. "Shh, it'll be alright, birdie..." Roy soothed. They opened the door to see Sparrow kneeling in front of the tolite, puking her guts out, and Roy rubbing her back as she shuddered and cried...

Roy gave them a desperate look, and Batman stepped forward. "Sparrow..." his voice showed his concern.

"Tati! Tati, make it stop..." Sparrow pleaded, turning back to vomit more. "It... it hurts..."

"What hurts?" Batman scooped the small girl up, holding the trash can in front of her.

"M-my stomach..." Batman could feel the heat radiating off the small form and stared, starting to walk briskly towards the med bay with Sparrow in his arms. By the time they'd reached it she'd passed out, and Wonder Woman, Hawkman, and Green Lantern stared.

"I need help with her, now." Batman ordered, starting an IV and checking her temperature. 103. She shivered and whimpered from her position, lying on the bed unconscious...

Flash, Superman, and Zatarra didn't look up from Wally.

"D-dad..." Robin staggered into the room, looking awful, and Batman caught his son as he collapsed, staring. Not Robin, too... "Relax, Robin. You'll be alright." he assured his son, and Robin quickly dozed off on a bed as well...  
_

"What happened?" Oliver asked as a very shaken looking Roy walked with him towards the med bay.

"I... I don't know, Ollie." Roy admitted. "We were exploring the tower, and then, Sparrow just said she felt sick and... it happened. I didn't know what to do so I sent Wally for help..."

"It's alright, Roy. We're just trying to figure out what happened, is all..."

Roy nodded, feeling kind of dizzy but brushing it off. The league needed his help, now...

Roy's eyes widened when he saw all three of his friends- no, his siblings- on beds in the med bay, unconscious or asleep...

"There are too many coincidences." Batman said, shaking his head. "All three of them just come down with something at the same time? Unlikely..."

"It could just be a stomach virus..." Hal suggested.

"No, it isn't. Sparrow and Robin have a genetic mutation, Delta 42, that's common in Europe. It makes them immune to most viruses." Batman said firmly.

"Then what is it? What's wrong with them?" Roy asked, looking at his siblings nervously. "They'll be alright, won't they?" Everyone saw Roy was looking shaky and scared, but in reality, he was having trouble standing...

Suddenly he ran over to the trash can and started to puke, gasping for breath.

"O-ollie..." he rasped, suddenly scared.

"Roy! Just relax, buddy..." Oliver looked, for once, scared as he rubbed his protege's back.

"Ollie- s-something's wrong..." Roy panted. "I- this isn't normal... help me, Ollie..." he pleaded, and everyone stared.

"Roy- relax- we're going to figure out what's wrong with you, I promise..." Oliver said, and Roy nodded, before his eyes rolled back in his head and he was unconscious.

"That isn't normal. Something happened to them..." Batman said, helping Oliver carry his protege to an empty bed.

"I've already decided to put the tower on quarantine until we figure out what happened. It's clear something caused this to happen to them- and we need to find out what. Fast." Superman said, motioning to the four sick kids before them.

"Maybe they got into something, chemicals, maybe..." Hawkman suggested.

"They didn't." Oliver said, looking concerned and desperate. "Roy was with them the whole time and would've had the sense to stop them..."

"Uncle Barry!" Wally sat bolt upright, chest heaving, and started to vomit as well, until he finally passed out again...

"They're all running fevers." Dinana pointed out. "They could had contracted some intense disease..."

"Like food poisoning?" Hal asked.

"Good chance of it, especially since they're almost all vomiting..." Superman said, and everyone turned to Batman, who nodded.

"It could fit the bill..." he said calmly.

"Let's try and figure out what they've eaten in the past twenty four hours..." Flash suggested, starting to make a list. They spent an hour reconstructing lists of everything the children had consumed within the past day, but nothing matched...

"This is useless. It definitely isn't food poisoning..." Batman said grimly. They all looked over at the four deathly still bodies that laid in the cots.

"Then, what is it?" Diana asked.

The silence they were met with was their worst nightmare- it confirmed they didn't know.  
-


	24. Incredibly Sick

**Okay, this chapter focuses on the heroes desperately trying to find out what's wrong with the kids and some protective!uncle superman, plus a bot of daddybats, but mainly a daddy Green Arrow w/ hurting Roy- it's so cute the way Roy would probably act when hurting... I should do a story based on that What do you think!? Anyways, review! :) I did good at the karate tournament, too by the way!**

"I managed to check the blood samples... there's a drop on blood cells." Flash said. They'd spent over three hours struggling to think about a cause...

"A drop?" Superman asked, looking shocked. "But if it were a virus or bacteria, there'd be an increase in cells, right?"

"Which means it probably isn't a virus." Flash confirmed, looking grim. "The downside to this is that they're lacking platelets, meaning if they bleed, it probably won't clot..."

"Meaning they're losing against this thing, whatever it is." Batman said, feeling dread well up in him.

"Yes. I hate to say it, but whatever is causing this isn't showing up in their bodies. No viruses or bacteria, but the fevers and dehydration very well could kill them if we don't find the cause and stop it." Flash sighed. "Meaning, if we don't stop this soon, they'll die."

"But what is causing it!?" Superman punched the wall, frustrated. "No virus, no bacteria, what is it!?"

"Kal, calm down..." Wonder Woman said, using his Kryptonian name. The man of steel rarely got frustrated, but now he definitely was...

"Don't tell me to calm down, Diana! Children are dying! What did they do to deserve this!?"

"Wait!" Batman stood, suddenly having an idea. "That's it. Poison."

"They didn't get into anything, though..." Oliver said, looking confused.

"No. But maybe something got into them." Batman was already running scans on his wrist computer...

"You mean someone intentionally poisoned them?" Hal asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Batman said, nodding. "The scans will take an hour to complete, but then we might be able to figure out what the substance was..."

"When I find out who, they'll regret it..." Superman said, glancing down at the children who were all struggling against their rising temperatures and illness.

"What about Mezzo?" Diana asked, and everyone looked up. "You mean that old medical android we powered down years ago?" Batman asked.

Hal nodded. "Theoretically, it could be remotely hacked..."

Batman swore under his breath, heading to the back room. Were he in charge, he'd have had the droid disassembled long ago... He pulled it out of storage, checking the use log. Nothing. He checked the deleted history, accessing into the system files, and it was there... Ten hours prior, the droid had been up into the East Wing, where the children had been found...It'd now been six hours the children were sick, and Batman strode into the room.

"East Wing. Now." he ordered. Everyone nodded they left Flash on duty with the children, heading to the room where they'd been found...

"We have record of the droid being controlled to enter here ten hours prior. Whatever it was that infected them made contact with them here." Batman said simply. "We figure out what it is, now."

They searched the room for ten minutes, then fifteen... "I feel the effects of it already." Batman said. Hal nodded. "Feeling kinda dizzy..." he admitted.

"Radiation..." Superman gasped.

"What?" Diana asked, looking equally as shocked.

"Kryptonians run on sun and radiation. I feel significantly stronger now... whatever it is is emitting high radiation... I can hear it."

"Hear what?" Hawkman asked, holding his head.

"A high frequency, too high to be heard by humans. The higher the frequency of a radio wave, the more radiation emitted..." The man of steel pulled up a floor board to reveal several hundred radio transmitters, the size of a fingernail, all emitting the high frequency wave...

"We need to know how long they were playing here for." Superman ordered, as he started to crush each tiny transmitter. Batman nodded. "I'll check the cameras and inform Flash." all the humans bailed out of the room, away from the radiation, until Superman finished destroying the transmitters...

Batman stared. "They were exposed for an hour and a half." he said calmly. "All of them. The reasons we didn't feel the effects was because the radiation reaching out from their to the whole base was minimal, thanks to the thick walls... but the kids felt the effects sooner since they're smaller."

Flash nodded. "So we treat the radiation sickness as best we can. Superman estimates they were exposed to around 4 gyus each, if it'd gone any higher, it might've killed them." he explained. "It'll help that the source is destroyed now..."

"B-batman!" they heard the hoarse cry and found Robin, vomiting into a bed pan. He looked haggard, exhausted, and sick. "B-batman- p-please, help..." he begged, and Batman recovered himself, hurrying forward to soothe the boy through the vomiting fit.

"It's alright, Robin. You have radiation sickness, but you'll be fine..." inside, though, he was feeling worse than ever as he watched his son vomit, gasping and struggling, in so much pain he could barely breathe.

"M-make it stop- please..." Robin pleaded.

Batman nodded calmly, injecting the boy with as much painkiller as he dared. "Trust me, Robin, you'll feel better soon." He promised, brushing the matter, sweat covered mop of raven hair from the boy's eyes. Robin simply closed his eyes and drifted off...

As soon as he did, Sparrow sat up and retched, puking into her own bed pan, and Batman rushed to soothe his other child and stopped dead. She wasn't just vomiting, she was vomiting blood.

"T-tati... what's wrong... w-with me?" she pleaded, looking scared as tears cascaded down her face, mixing with the blood.

Batman didn't dare tell her the truth. "Just sick, Sparrow. Trust me, it will stop soon..." she was so exhausted she didn't notice the needle slipping under her skin, injecting her with a bit more painkiller. Still, he didn't dare give her too much of anything while she was in such a bad way...

"T-tati- l-let me die. Please. I-I saw mamica, she's so pretty..." her eyes fluttered closed as she spoke, and Bruce stared. He knew they were all in pain, but for Sparrow to be vomiting blood and on death's door? No, he'd never let her go. He knew John and Mary would never want him to just let her slip away like this.

"Keep fighting for me, please." Batman pleaded, feeling wetness trailing down his cowl but not caring as he sat down between his two children's beds, taking each small hand in his own and preparing for a long vigil.

"U-uncle Barry!" Wally cried, frantic.

"Wally..." Barry raced over to his nephew, and Wally curled up into a ball, sobbing. "It hurts, Uncle Barry, it hurts... I want my mom!"

"I know, kid, but she could get sick too if you were near her..." Barry said, trying to explain the situation to his nephew without telling him how bad everything really was.

"I... I want my mommy..." Wally sobbed, not caring how babyish it sounded coming from the mouth of a ten year old. His stomach HURT, and he wanted his mother to hold him and stroke his hair and soothe him like she always did... He cried himself to sleep quietly and quickly, with the help of the sedative Barry injected into him. He leaned his own forehead against his nephew's sweaty, warm one.

"Hang on for me Wally, just hang on..." he said, feeling tearful himself. He tucked the blankets around the boy more snugly, hoping soon the symptoms would lessen...

"Mmmmmm..." Roy woke up feeling incredibly sick, and barely had time to dart forward before the contents of his stomach spilled out into the bedpan that was sitting beside his bed.

He heaved, feeling a cold sweat trickle down his back... the last thing he remembered was Ollie's face...

"Hey Roy..." Roy didn't bother to turn, he was too busy feeling his stomach clench and unclench painfully as he retched... He felt the warm hand rubbing soothing circles on his back and relaxed, leaning into the warm embrace slightly.

"O-ollie..." he managed to choke out between retches. "D-dad..." he managed, finally, between coughing up bile. "W-what happened?"

Oliver's eyes lit up slightly, but he made sure not to let it show. Roy had never before called him Dad, and he only wished the first time wasn't under such circumstances.

"Radiation sickness, buddy. We took care of it..."

Roy nodded, clutching his stomach and feeling the intense pain of muscles that had just recently rebelled against themselves in expelling everything they possibly could... He could handle pain, but he allowed a low moan to escape him.

Oliver's face creased with worry.

"D-dad..." Roy stuttered, and Oliver quickly held the bed pan under his son's chin and allowed the boy to dry heave, every now and then a small amount of bile escaping his mouth and dribbling into the pan.

"Shh, Roy, shh..." Ollie soothed the boy who he'd always thought of as his son, rubbing soothing circles on the boy's back as his stomach continued to rebel. Finally, Roy finished vomiting, and just sat there, struggling to catch his breath and wincing as he clutched his painful stomach...

"H-how are the others? Mmmmm..." Roy groaned as his stomach muscles clenched again.

"You'll all be fine." Oliver lied. Because they might not be fine, but Roy didn't need to know that. It already hurt him to see his boy in so much pain...

He reached out to stroke Roy's hair and the boys leaned into his touch, eyes closed, taking slow, measured breaths.

"O-ollie... it hurts..." Roy whimpered as a stabbing pain his him stomach and he gasped, suddenly feeling dizzy...

"I know, Roy, I know..." Oliver opened his arms and Roy leaned against him, moaning again as he leaned against his father's strong chest, shuddering and breaking out in a cold sweat...

"What you need is rest, buddy. Just focus on rest..." Oliver said, holding his son close to him. Roy nuzzled into him, relaxing even more despite his pain... "You're warm..." he murmured, before he slipped off to sleep.

Despite the feverish heat coming off the boy, Roy was still shivering, and Oliver grabbed the blankets and wrapped them around his son until his shivering lessened considerably. "That's it, Roy, just rest..." Oliver soothed him, hoping soon it would stop...

"They're still fighting." Diana said, looking at the three downcast, desperate mentors. "Bring me the android." Batman ordered. He started tracking the signal of where the robot had been controlled from.

"I found out where the signal came from." he said, showing it to Superman, who looked incredibly angry. "What kind of sick person would do this to children?"

"I don't think the children were the intended targets. We were." Batman said calmly. "The children just got in the way and were hurt first, since they're smaller..."

"But who would do this?" Wonder Woman asked. "They'd have to know about the watchtower..."

"Peter Fletcher." Superman said suddenly. "The scientist we brought up here once. He started making weapons of mass destruction and we broke off with him, but he never forgave us..."

Batman nodded. "A likely suspect. I swear, if any of them din't make it, I'll..."

"No. I take care of this." Superman growled in a Batman like fashion that made everyone stare.

"He hurt innocent children, whether he meant to or not, and he's going to deal with the consequences." he stalled out of the room, leaving everyone to ponder what the man of steel had just said.


	25. In Which Superman is Angry

**Red Claw is mentioned in this chapter. FYI, Red Claw is a ruthless terrorist group in Gotham that's in Batman the animated series. Please review/Follow/Fav. This chapter starring Protective!Superman!**

Superman was beyond angry. He was PISSED OFF. He'd seen children he loved like his niece and nephews vomiting blood and crying, asking to die… He descended through the atmosphere, towards the coordinates Batman had given him. It was a cabin in the Yukon, and he touched down, not even feeling the chill of the snow around him…. His blood was literally boiling with rage….

He peered in the window to see Fletcher, a short twenty eight year old genius with black hair and deep brown eyes, sitting at a beat up armchair, no doubt designing more weapons as he worked on his laptop. He was wanted by the US, Canadian, and Mexican government for selling weapons to their mobs, and it had been rumored he'd even hooked up with the Red Claw terrorist group (from batman the animated series, Google red claw). For a time. He didn't care about the people he hurt- only sold to who paid the most. After the justice League had exposed him and tried to hunt him, down, he'd developed a deep hatred for them….

He kicked in the door, and it slammed into the opposite wall of the cabin with a thud. Fletcher looked up, surprised, before smiling. "Ah, Superman. Tell me- did the Justice League loose anyone yet?"

"You've gone too far, Fletcher." He said, so angry….

Fletcher's smile widened. "Why? What happened? Did Batman die? I always hated him…."

Superman took a menacing step forwards and Fletcher grinned. "Awww. Is the boy scout going to take me to prison?"

"Who said anything about prison, Fletcher? You hurt innocent children- I just saw a six year old begging to die thanks to you. You don't deserve prison." He took another step forward and Fletcher's eyes widened.

Of course, Superman wasn't planning on killing him- he never killed. But that didn't mean that heads wouldn't roll for this….

Fletcher stood, still clutching his computer and backing up. "Now Superman… I… I didn't mean to get the sidekicks…."

"But you did. And now you'll pay for it." Superman took another step forwards and Fletcher another back, tripping on the rug and falling backwards, managing to squirm backwards until his back was against the wall.

"Superman… I… you wouldn't really kill me…." Fletcher laughed nervously, fear showing in his eyes.

"Try me." Superman lunged forward, seizing the man buy the collar and dragging him outside. He pushed off the ground with tremendous force before flying into the air. Fletcher yelled as Superman flew low over the trees, so low the tips of the man's toes almost hit the branches…. He pulled straight up, until the air started to thin, before dropping Fletcher. The force of everything would've impaled him on the branches, but at the last second, Superman caught him and headed out over the ocean, dropping him again….

Fletcher screamed and thrashed, but Superman caught him right before he hit the water, trailing his toes in the icy spray until he finally passed out from fear….

He dropped Fletcher off at the Metropolis Police station- they'd no doubt identify him and take care of things- before flying back to the Watchtower.

"It's finished." He announced, entering the room.

Batman grinned. "She's stable." He announced, and Sparrow looked up warily from where she was nestled into Batman's arms.

"W-where'd you go, Uncle Clark?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"I just had to beat someone up." Superman said, and Sparrow grinned slightly.

"I told you he wadnt always a boyscout…." She lisped, before her eyes fell closed again, and everyone chuckled. The kids were going to be fine.


	26. Hide and Seek

**Okay, sorry if the Romani is a little off, I did the best could. This chapter is mainly Oliver/kid centric, and I hope you like. Please review, follow, and fav, and thanks again! Any suggestions as to what an di fr the trouble Scarlet and Dick get into back at Wayne Manor? I'm thinking... **

"I can tell you're feeling better." Oliver grinned as Roy dug into his lunch- Roy was, in truth, already big, but it was clear he was having another growth spurt, despite his recent illness, by the way he ate.

"Sorry-" Roy muttered around a mouthful of food. "just hungry, I guess..."

"It's just good to see you eating, We almost lost you guys..." Oliver said.

"Hey- where's Sparrow?" Wally looked up from his third plate of food. Robin was asleep, since he'd woken to eat earlier, and Oliver looked up, snapping to attention when he saw the empty bed next to the boy wonder.

"Oh crap. Bats left me in charge, when he finds out I lost her..."

"You're dead." Roy finished for him.

"Thanks for the confidence, Roy." Oliver ran a nervous hand through his hair and started to pace. "He's going to kill me..."

A giggle echoed throughout the room and Oliver crouched down, seeing the littlest bird had flattened herself out on the floor under Roy's bed and was currently staring at him with those cute baby blues...

"Hey Roy, there's a little monster under your bed..." Oliver said, smiling as she giggled again.

"Is there, now?" Roy asked, playing along. "Maybe you should tickle it..."

"First I'll catch it!" Oliver pulled her out from under the bed and she squealed in delight as the archer hefted her into his arms, before starting to tickle her madly...

The ringing giggles, so like the peel of tiny, magical silver bells, filled the room, and everyone found themselves smiling. Robin woke up and grinned slightly, glad to see his sister looking so happy...

Finally, Oliver quit tickling her and she caught her breath. Oliver found it both adorable and endearing- the kid fought crime on a daily basis but was ticklish.

"Hi uncle Ollie." she grinned, cocking her head curiously at him. "I'm kinda bored."

"Bored?" Oliver asked, and she nodded. "Like a piece of wood."

Oliver chuckled at her cuteness. "You're bored, huh?" she nodded seriously.

"Alright, who feels up to playing a game?" Oliver asked, setting Sparrow down and looking over at the children.

"I do!" Robin said, grinning slightly.

"Me too!" Wally announced.

"Please, Roy?" Sparrow asked, tugging on the older boy's blankets.

"When I'm done eating." Roy promised, mouth still full off food.

"Alright, what do you guys want to play? You're not officially out of the med bay yet, so it has to be pretty simple..."

"Hide and seek?" Sparrow asked hopefully.

"I like hide and seek." Wally agreed.

"Alright- let's play. Not it!" Robin yelled.

"Not it!" Sparrow cried.

"Not it!" Both Roy and Wally yelled in unison, and all eyes fell on Oliver.

"Looks like you'e the seeker, Uncle Ollie..." Sparrow said, and Oliver nodded.

"Alright, you guys get twenty five seconds to hide. One, two..."

There was the massive ruckus of feet running out of the room and down the hallways, and Oliver grinned- he'd find them all in no time if they kept making noise like this...

But by the time he'd reached twenty-five, it was dead silent in the cave, like it had been when they'd all been sick, and Oliver was slightly surprised...

"Ready or not, here I come!" he announced, stepping into the hallway. It was dead silent, and he realized this was going to be harder than he'd thought...

He searched all the obvious places, under the beds and tables, behind the chairs and even in the vents, thinking Sparrow and Robin might be there, but he found nothing...

Wally, the devious speedster that he was, was still hungry, and had managed to jam himself in the snack cupboard. He munched silently on a few gummy bears as he watched Oliver search the high and low cupboards through the gap between the doors... The cupboard was normally full, leaving n room to hide inside, but while they'd been sick the leaguers had been too busy to shop, so there was just enough rom for the speedster to crawl in... Oliver, however, didn't know this, and didn't even consider the cupboard as a possible hiding place...

"I'm going to find you..." he called, hoping Sparrow's tell-tale giggling would give her away. No such luck. He sighed. Of course she wouldn't giggle. When it came down to it, she was a Bat, and Bats played for keeps...

"Aha!" Oliver wrenched open the janitor's closet door to be greeted by a bedraggled looking mop and broom, as well as several other cleaning products lining the shelf, a bucket, and some rags... His face fell, and his worry rose slightly- what if he couldn't find the kids? He shut the door, and soon after is footsteps faded, the mop bucket and rags piled up started to move slightly, and Roy stuck his head out. He'd chosen the closet for two reasons; one, he knew the rags and bucket as well as low light would be easy to hide in; and two, he figured he might as well guard most of the cleaning products, since Sparrow and Robin were Bats, and might decide to mix some stuff together to make chloroform or something... Bats played to win.

"Guys? Where are you?" Oliver asked, voice bordering on dread now. He didn't want the leaguers to know he'd lost the kids, but they'd certainly noticed... He walked directly under the rafters in the main room, where Robin laid flat on top of the one rafter, on his stomach, cheek pressed against the cool metal, and grinned. Bats were made for hide and seek.

Finally, an hour later, their absence was noted. It might've been noteworthy Oliver had been yelling that he gave up and they'd won at twenty minutes, but none of the kids came out at his calls... darn Bats, always needed to prove a point!

"Queen- where are they?" Batman demanded, voice stone-cold.

Oliver chuckled nervously, running a nervous hand through his hair... Batman was flanked by Flash, Superman and Wonder Woman... Crap, this was bad...

"Funny thing about that..." he started.

"There isn't anything funny about it. Now where's Wally?" Flash asked.

"I... um... I kinda decided to play hide and seek with them... and they won..." Oliver said, sweating bullets.

"Did you tell them you gave up?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Yes! I've been yelling it, but they won't come out..." Oliver said, and Batman shook his head. "They've been trained not to come out when someone says they give up. I figured the Joker would play that card sooner or later..."

"This is just hide and seek!" Oliver said, practically tearing his hair out.

"Doesn't matter. Every situation presents some danger..." Batman said.

"So you lost the kids? Nice going, Oliver- and I thought I was irresponsible. They just got over radiation sickness, for pete's sake..." Flash said.

"Well sorry I'm not super nanny over here! You try and find your kid!" Oliver yelled.

Batman shot his grappling hook up at the rafters and came down a moment later holding a sleeping Robin.

"Found one." he said, looking down at his son before affectionately brushing the hair from the boy's face...

"He was ASLEEP up there!?" Oliver said, shocked.

"Shhh! You'll wake him! And yes, he was. He can walk on a high wire, sleeping n narrow places is normal for him..." Batman said, feeling slightly better that his son was in his arms and acting normal again. He was sleeping more, but that was to be expected after his illness, not to mention he'd chosen a high place to sleep, which was characteristic of him...

"I found Wally." Flash dragged his nephew out from the snack cupboard. The ten year old speedster had oreo cookie crumbs all around his mouth, and Flash grinned. "Always so resourceful..." he said, looking proud...

"Ollie- what the heck? How did you not find me? I've been in the janitor's closet for a friggin hour!" Roy said, looking grumpy as he entered the room.

"I was busy trying to find the other demons!" Oliver said, motioning to a sleeping Robin, who Batman had set on the couch with Wally.

Roy crossed his arms. "You have GOT to be kidding me."

"Where's Sparrow, then?" Wonder Woman asked, but Batman was already headed towards the hatch that led to the crawl space. He lifted it to find Sparrow, covered in the dust that had accumulated over the years but also sound asleep, and lifted her out.

"She was in the crawl-space?" Oliver asked, jaw practically hitting the floor.

"Of course she was. She does this all the time in the Batcave..." Batman brushed the raven hair from her face and she curled against his chest, putting her thumb in her mouth. Even though she was six, she looked so much younger when she slept...

"Savvano anikka, mi chirklos." (Sleep well, my birds.) he muttered, and both children stirred in their sleep, recognizing their native tongue before they were al carried off to bed by their mentors.

"This is why we don't play hide and seek- Bats have crazy good stealth." Superman said, and they all nodded their agreement.

"That, and Queen is just incapable." Batman said, perpetual scowl still on their face. They all laughed at the affronted look on Oliver's face.


	27. The Park

**Okay, this next chapter is based on the pm Lady Amozon sent me awhile ago about getting into trouble at a park. Scarlet and Dick can find trouble literally ANYWHERE, and this chapter is meant to show that, Please review! :)**

"Where are we going?" Dick asked as they he headed down the sidewalk with Bruce.

"The park." Bruce said serenely. He smiled as Scarlet held his hand, skipping to keep up with his long strides. Scarlet instantly perked up. "You mean the playground?"

"No- the park. There's a nice path to walk and trees and benches and grass..."

"Sounds boring." Scarlet said, and Bruce chuckled. "I prefer to call it relaxing..."

"There it is!" Dick pointed, and they all looked to see the winding bright path by the green grass and old sycamore trees that stretched with shade, There was a fountain in the center, spitting water from the angel's mouth. Dick's eyes widened...

Bruce sat down on the bench to read the paper. "You two can go play." he said, and they both scampered off to play behind the bench on the grass...

He heard the giggling, and five minutes later a fat woman in a flowered dress stalked over, holding her equally fat son by his chubby arm.

"Are those your children?" she asked, pointing behind him.

Bruce turned to see Scarlet and Dick handing upside down from a fat sycamore branch, fifteen feet above the ground. What really surprised him was that there wasn't a single branch below the ones they were on, which was fifteen feet up.

He had to smile slightly, watching them giggle and play patty cake upside down before turning back around to face the angry tub of lard. "Yes, yes they are..."

"Well now MY son will try that stupid stunt and break his neck! What do you intent to do about it?"

In the back of his mind, he was thinking that the fat kid would never be about to even get into a tree to ATTEMPT the stunt, but of course he couldn't say that. He was actually annoyed- it wasn't his fault his children where awesome.

But he had to appease the angry fat lady, so he turned once again. "Dick, Scarlet, could you come down from there?" he asked. Both children swung up onto the branch before Dick did a double backflip down, Scarlet managing a single before they trotted over.

"Yeah Dad?"

"Try doing something less dangerous, alright?"

"That wasn't dangerous at all, Bruce..." Scarlet said, looking confused-Dick noticed the fat lady and quickly covered her mouth. The fat lady harumphed and walked away, and they all looked relaxed slightly...

Dick released his hold on Scarlet's mouth, and she stared. "Did you see that fat lady? She was scarier than Scare Crow, I'll bet..." Scarlet said, since Batman still never let her tangle with the large villains. Bruce chuckled. "Not quite, Scarlet. Listen- let's try to avoid irritating people and stay out of the trees, alright?"

"Okay, Tati." and with that, they both scampered off once again. Bruce read literally twelve words before he heard a splash and looked up.

"Oops..." Dick said, blushing furiously and quickly scrambling out of the fountain- Bruce easily pieced together what had happened. They'd obviously been walking on the edge of the fountain, since Scarlet still stood there, when Dick had fallen in...

"Dick..." Bruce said, tone firm. Luckily no one had been around to see that...

"Pigeons!" Scarlet jumped off the edge of the fountain, excited, running towards the birds clustered in the shade of a sycamore...

"Scarlet, wait!" Bruce said, shocked at how fast she was going. But she didn't hear him and stumbled over one of the large sycamore roots, grabbing a pigeon as she fell...

The pigeon was frantic, flapping it's wings, legs flailing from where Sparrow had clutched it's one leg desperately...

"Dick! Dick, help!" she yelled, holding it. Both Dick and Bruce sprinted over.

"What do I do!? she yelled, frantic.

"How should I know? You're the one that caught it!" Dick cried, as the bird continued to fight.

"Let it go!" Bruce ordered, and she quickly obeyed for lack of a better idea.

She rolled onto her back on the ground, catching her breath...

"Why would you do that!?" Bruce demanded, concerned as he set her on the bench. Her arms were covered in scratches from the pigeons and her knees were skinned and bleeding from the fall...

Scarlet shrugged. "Cuz I didn't think I could do it, Tati, and I hadn't thought that far ahead..."

Bruce looked at the scratches on her arms, which were bleeding slightly, before deciding...  
"Alright, we're doing to see Doctor Leslie to get you cleaned up..." Bruce decided, picking her up.

"Roy and Wally won't believe this!" Scarlet said, looking proud.

"At least the press wasn't around to see that... or anyone..." Dick pointed out. Luckily, Dr. Leslie's clinic was just down the street, and Bruce carried her in.

There was a young girl about Scarlet's age, playing with toys in the corner. When she saw the blood on Scarlet's cuts she gasped.

"Doesn't that hurt?" she asked, pointing. Scarlet shrugged. "Not bad, it just stings..."

Sparrow sat down and Dr. Lesile peered in the doorway. "Bruce is it an emergency?"

"No, just fit us in when you can." Bruce said calmly.

Leslie eyed the blood on Scarlet's arms and nodded. "I can fit you in right now." she said, and Bruce carried her back int the exam room, Dick tagging along, since he hated being left alone...

"So, Scarlet, what did you do this time?" she asked, cleaning the cuts and scrapes.

"I caught a pigeon and it mauled me." Scarlet said, looking unpreturbed.

"You what?" Dr. Leslie asked, looking shocked at Bruce.

Bruce sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yes, she managed to catch a pigeon..."

"And it mauled her?"

"It was pretty scared." Dick supplied.

Leslie sighed. "Now Scarlet, why would you do that?"

Scarlet shrugged. "I was bored. And it looked kinda friendly..."

Dr. Leslie bandaged the cuts, sighing. "Well you'll need a tetanus shot, just to be safe."

Bruce looked at Leslie, his concern showing through his eyes. "Is it really that serious?"

"It's just a precaution, just in case." Leslie explained, dabbing at Scarlet's arm with an alcohol wipe before prepping the shot and sticking Scarlet. She didn't even wince, and looked to Bruce after Leslie finished. "Can we go now, Tati?"

"You can head out to the waiting room with Dick." Bruce said, staying to look at Leslie. "She'll be alright?" he asked, needing to make sure.

Leslie nodded. "She should be fine, Bring her back if she develops a fever, nausea, anything out of the ordinary..."

Bruce nodded. "Thanks again, Leslie. Your usual fee, I take it?" he always paid her by check, and Leslie waved it off.

"I'll send you the bill, Bruce- you've git two rambunctious kids to keep track of now."

Bruce smiled slightly as they walked towards the waiting room. She was right.

"Hey Bruce- I don't think the park is very relaxing anymore, do you?" Scarlet asked, and Bruce chuckled. "No, I don't. I don't think we'll be revisiting that park anytime soon." And Bruce realized that day that the park WASN'T very relaxing.


	28. Coming Down

**Okay, this is a cute drabble I thought I'd put in. I have some ideas and am currently trying to work them into the story, as well as get a bit more Dick in, but hey, we'll see. Please review!**

Laughter once again echoed up and down the halls of the Watchtower, and Superman smiled as he watched Scarlet racing around, playing with some imaginary friends, Batman was in a meeting and Dick had homework to do at school. Everyone else was in a meeting, but Superman, thankfully, had just gotten back from a mission early, so he didn't have to attend... technically...

He watched from the shadows as she giggled. She was only six, she was still young, and he watched, smiling at the innocence she had as she played with the imaginary things. She was young enough to play pretend still, but old enough to work with others...

She was cute too, incredibly cute. Superman was glad he was her surrogate uncle...

She turned around, catching sight of Superman. Her eyes lit up even more and she ran to him. "Uncle Clark!" she squealed in delight and Superman caught her, bending slightly so he could, grinning. All the fatigue from the off-world diplomatic mission was gone, which was saying something. Two weeks being surrounded by political parties that would never agree on a civil war-torn planet ruled by bureaucracy was depressing, but this girl was like an angle- she could lift anyone's spirits.

Superman swung her around slightly before setting her down. "I missed you!" she said, grinning at him.

"I missed you too, Sparrow..." He said, ruffling her hair.

"Did ya see any aliens?" she asked hopefully, blue eyes alight with wonder.

"Lots, Sparrow." Superman chuckled. "But they weren't very friendly..."

"Did ya beat them up?" she asked hopefully.

"Sort of..." he'd been acting as security while a peace treaty was being signed, but terrorists had made sure it hadn't happened... Still, all his anger and regret had melted away...

"I saved you gummy bears." Sparrow said, pulling out the bag from a pocket in her cape and handing them to him.

"Thanks..." Superman smiled warmly, taking the bag from her and sliding it into his own pocket. She was the only one who knew how much he liked gummy bears...

"Uncle Clark..."

"Yes, birdie...?" Superman could see something flickering in her eyes- hope and excitement, possibly...

"Could you fly me?" she asked hopefully.

Superman chuckled. "Sure, birdie..." instantly she'd scrambled over and was holding her arms up, and Superman picked her up, holding her so she held onto him like a little koala bear...

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded eagerly, and Superman's feet left the floor... He watched her eyes, happy to see they were dancing as they hovered above he ground, about thirty feet above the up the large hall...

Sparrow grinned. She could stay like this forever, in the air, flying, nothing holding her but Superman... It was so like she felt when she was on the trapeze, but Superman could hold her here forever- she'd never have to get tired and come down, the rush would never stop...

Superman held the girl, realizing then, nit for the first time, how small she was. Bruce admitted she was light, but to a kryptonian who could easily bench a car, the girl was like a feather, her bones like glass... And yet she was never afraid, she was a hero...

"You like being up in the air, don't you?" Superman asked quietly, and the blue eyes looked up at him.

"I'm an acrobat. My mamica didn't know she was pregnant with me until she was two months along, so she kept being on the trapeze until then..." Sparrow said, as if that explained everything.

Superman smiled. "That's pretty neat..."

Sparrow nodded, laying her head against her uncle's chest. It was late, and the happiness of being in the air was starting to wear her out...

"Sparrow." Batman's voice drifted up to them, and they saw the Dark Knit himself standing below, arms crossed...

"Tati!" Sparrow completely forgot she was thirty feet in the air and pull free from Superman's grip, completely at ease as she approached the ground at a rapid pace...

Wonder Woman gasped as she watched the child fall, and J'on tried to stop her with his telepathic powers, but it was too late...

Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Hawkman, and Zatara all braced themselves for the sickening thud...

"Hi Tati! I missed you!" Sparrow chirped, curling against the caped crusader's chest...  
"Hello, mi tikno chirriklo..." he said, stroking her hair...

"But... she was falling..." Wonder Woman stared, as did all the leaguers who'd witnessed the spectacle, were pale and looking shocked...

"So I caught her." Batman said simply. "And she didn't fall. She jumped. Graysons never fall..."

Superman descended, still looking surprised. "She- she jumped?"

Batman nodded. "She was aiming for me, anyways..."

"What possessed you to do that?" J'on asked, looking shaken. "You would've died..."

"No I wouldn't have. Tati will always catch me." Sparrow said certainly, snuggling deeper into her father's embrace. The leaguers were surprised by the tender expression on Batman's face as he rubbed a gloved hand against her cheek and she smiled, curling against her father's chest.

"Someone's tired..." Batman said.

"Am not..." Sparrow protested, but she was interrupted by a huge yawn.

"Sure you aren't." Batman said, smirking and heading for the zeta tubes. "Clark let me fly again, Tati..." Sparrow murmured, and Batman smiled. "Did he, now?"

"Yeah..."

"Recognizing... Batman 02, Sparrow B02..." the zeta tubes announced, and they were gone, leaving the leaguers to stare after them, It was then that they learned no matter how much Sparrow loved to fly, she'd always come back down for Batman...


	29. Fear of Falling

**Thanks for all the reviews! This is another exerpt on them falling, a little backstory, and someother stuff. Mainy Robin-Centric. Please tell me via review who you want to hear more from- Robin or Scarlet? Thanks again! :)**

"Tag! You're it!" Dick yelled, and Scarlet pivoted, jumping to the next building in order to race after her brother.

"Watch it, Sparrow, you don't have a grappling gun yet..." Batman reminded her. He'd deemed her too young to have one yet- really,he was just terrified her hands would slip once... It was so much safer for him to just hold her as they swung, looking like a real bat as they swooped through the night, with his daughter wrapped safely in his cape as though it were Bat's wings...

He'd seem the wonderment in her eyes as she swooped through the darkness with him, the way those blue eyes lit up... but she wouldn't have a grappling gun until she was eight, he'd decided, since that was the age when he'd been confident enough to give Dick one...

She, as was her tendency when she was having a ton of fun, didn't hear him. She was giggling and running after Robin...

"Calm down, you two..." Batman ordered, but they were three buildings away by then, and suddenly there was a noise, before the roof ahead of them turned into ice and they were both slipping...

They went over the edge, both incredibly silent as they'd been taught to stay calm in dire situations...

Batman was anything BUT calm as Mr. Freeze swung over from where he'd been perched, lying in wait, at a window in a building just across the street. Batman cursed his negligence. He'd been so busy worrying about their game of tag he hadn't noticed...

"What's the matter, Batman? Lost your birds?" Freeze taunted, and Batman felt his every muscle go taught. They were on a thirty story building, and Sparrow didn't have a grappling gun... They'd have hit the pavement by now, there was no saving them if they hadn't been able to help themselves, and Batman swore loudly.

"You're going to wish you were never born." Batman said through clenched teeth, Daddy Bats taking over as he flew at Freeze. He jumped behind the bulky man, knocking the freeze-ray away from him as Freeze whirled around to face him, smashing the glass bubble atop his suit where his head was...

From there he beat the man to a pulp, until he was on the very boarder of consciousness, begging for mercy...

"You could've just killed them..." Batman said, not at all ready to stop. "And if you have, you'll die the same way they did. I'm not a cop- I'm your worst nightmare."  
_

As this all was playing out, Sparrow and Robin found themselves falling, falling, falling...

"Grab onto me!" Robin yelled, pulling out his grappling gun. They continued to plunge towards the Earth, and Sparrow snapped out of the shock of suddenly falling, wrapping her arms around her brother's waist. Robin protectively wrapped his free arm around her head, they were practically horizontal as they fell, and Robin wanted to protect her from the shock of things as much as possible...

He desperately shot off the hook, and it slammed into the side of the building, and with shocking force, the fall suddenly stopped...

"Dickey?" Sparrow asked, and Robin looked down to see her face as white as a sheet...

"I got you, Birdie, I got you..." Robin assured her, and they both took a moment to catch their breath...

"It was Mr. Freeze, wasn't it?" she asked, and Robin nodded. "Yeah. Let's go help Dad..."

They zipped up, back onto the building, carefully crossing the ice before sprinting towards Batman, who was currently pounding Mr. Freeze's face in...

"Dad!" they both rushed over, and Batman slapped the cuffs onto Freeze, looking at them. "Everyone okay?"

They both nodded. "We pulled through..." Dick assured him.

But Batman could see the fall had clearly rattled both Grayson's to the core, even if they had managed to catch themselves in time... Sparrow was still pale, looking like she'd fall over in the slightest gust of wind, and Robin was trying his hardest to stifle how much he was shaking...

"Need a break?" Batman asked, lifting up a caped arm. Both children were instantly clinging to him, and Batman sat down on the roof, letting them get it all out... Sparrow simply crawled into her father's lap, exhausted from the fear, and slept, while Robin remained scared stiff and awake, shaking uncontrollably as he clung to Batman.

"I... I saw it happening... again..." he got out as he clung to Bruce. "They- they were falling... like we were... and you were too far away to help us. Just like I couldn't save them- we couldn't save them..." Robin's teeth were chattering now, and Batman placed a hand on his son's head.

"But you saved Scarlet." He pointed out. "That night- I saw you catch her."  
Dick closed his eyes and took a breath...

_"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Flying Graysons!" Pop Haly announced, and the crowd went wild. "We have John Grayson, husband to the lovely Mar Grayson!" the spotlight fell onto their parents as they both started to flip to one another..._

_"Then we have nine year old Dick Grayson!" Pop Haly announced. Dick grabbed his mother's hands and went flipping towards his father, the ecstasy of the performance making him oblivious to everything, including how the ropes, as the maneuvers grew more difficult, were fraying and weakening..._

_Dick landed on the opposite platform he'd started on when his part of the performance was over, watching Scarlet respond to her cue..._

_"And finally, little Scarlet Grayson, whose only five years old!"_

_Scarlet caught her mother's hands as the crowd whispered about how cute she was, flipping to her father, then back to her mother, before her final trick, one she'd spent hours with Dick working in, the double flip..._

_She executed it perfectly, and Dick grinned as she caught her father's hands, about to swing off onto the platform and land beside Dick. But the wires snapped. A collective gasp rose from the crowd. "Dick!" his father swung Scarlet's hands, tossing her towards the platform, and Dick steadied her as she landed shakily..._

_"Mamica! Tati!" the scream was torn from Scarlet's throat, and Dick covered her eyes and held her tightly, own eyes glued to the horrifying scene below as his parents fell, fell, fell, and then there was a sickening thud..._

_After that everything was a haze. They both scrambled down the ladder, towards the bodies, Scarlet in tears, desperately shaking her father's lifeless body, then her mother's. "Mamica! Tati! Wake up, please wake up!" she sobbed, praying they were just asleep. Dick finally lost his composure then, too, shaking them as well, praying it was all just some sick nightmare..._

_That night the bearded lady had agreed to watch them. In the trailer, she'd stroked them and gave them pitying looks, trying her best to console the scared, traumatized children._

_But as the bearded lady slept that night, Dick packed their suitcase- he'd already made up his mind. He and Scarlet would most likely be separated by social services, and he would never let that happen..._

_They stole away in the darkness that night, intent on escaping social services. They ended up treed at the edge of circus grounds, with Batman coming on scene to talk them down..._

"I... I couldn't save them..." Dick said, tears streaming down his face as the late July moon shone down on them.

"There was nothing you could do, Dickey. You aren't god." Batman said, stroking his hair.

"But... Maybe... maybe I could've..."

"Dickey, there was nothing you could've done. They're somewhere better now, watching us- I know their proud of you..." Batman said firmly, and Dick nodded, exhaustion finally taking over...

"I... I'm glad..." he said sleepily, before he, too, fell asleep in Bruce's lap. The dark knight left the scene that night treasuring his children more than ever before.


	30. Why they dislike McDonalds

**This chapter is basically about how filthy McDonald's playlands really are and how awesome Roy is for Scarlet when it comes down to it. Please review, follow, & Fav! :)**

"Hi Roy!" Scarlet hugged Roy who smiled at her, nodding. "I see you brought thing one and thing two along." he joked, nodding to Dick and Wally.

"Yeah. Barry said we're going to McDonalds!" she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet, excited.

"Really? Great..." Roy was, in truth, starving. Ollie had been dragging him to Joseph A. Banks and Mens' Warehouse stores for the past four hours, since he'd outgrown his suits and, being the ward of wealthy Oliver Queen, needed to dress up and go to stupid galas...

Yet most of his pent up frustration and fear was completely gone when he saw Scarlet. Oliver must've sensed his frustration and called them to have lunch with them. He smiled slightly. How did Ollie know Scarlet was like a massage chair- she took away all the tension that had ever existed and totally replaced it with cuteness. She was like a little air freshener, except she not only smelled like gingerbread, she was like a kitten...

"McDonalds!" Scarlet was instantly racing towards the McDonald's play land, Dick and Wally racing after her, all laughing like maniacs. Roy shook his head and grinned slightly. "Ollie, get me a number four combo, okay?" he said, before he, too, took off running after them.

They ditched their shoes, tossing them into the plastic cubbies, before climbing into the labyrinth of plastic tubes and slides, climbing the ladders and playing tag...

"Ugg... those play lands are like petri-dishes. So many germs..." Barry said as they sat down with the food, content to watch the children play through the clear plastic bubbles that pervaded some areas...

"It's called hand-sanitizer, Barry." Bruce said, producing a pump of it from his pocket.

Oliver laughed. "Never thought I'd hear you being so... motherish, Bats." he said finally.

"At least he'd prepared." Barry said, and the settled back into a contented silence, watching the kids play...

Inside the little maze of tubes, everyone could hear everything, and laughter echoed as the kids ran around, ignoring all the kids they didn't know, simply obsessed with evading the one who was 'it'.

"I'll get you, Dick!" Roy yelled, scooting after Dick as he raced through the tube maze. Dick easily jumped into a blue tubed twisty slide, and Roy headed down after him. Only Roy didn't come out at the mouth of the slide. Dick approached the slide, cautious for any trickery- anything went when they played tag.  
"Roy? You there?" he asked.

There was a curse, and then some noise. "No." Roy's voice drifted down the twisty slide, out to Dick. "I'm stuck..."

"Stuck?" Dick asked.

"Yes, stuck in the friggin slide. Ugg! Get Ollie, would you? And make sure none of the little twerps try and slide down this deathtrap..."

Dick trotted off to get Oliver. "Uncle Ollie- Roy's stuck in the slide."

Oliver looked up, slightly startled. "You mean he can't get himself out?"

"Nope, he's stuck. Wally and Scarlet and making sure nobody slides down on top of him, but he told me to get you..."

Oliver was already striding over to the slide, slightly afraid of how stuck Roy really was... Bruce and Barry, parents and uncles as they were, followed...

"Roy, you alright in there?" Ollie called, feeling like an idiot as he spoke into a slide.

"Umm, no. I'm stuck in a friggin slide, Ollie, I am not alright!" Roy said, sounding grumpy.

"Just how stuck are you, Roy?" Bruce asked.

"Stuck. You think I'd be in here if I could get myself out?" Roy asked.

"Try and wiggle around a little." Barry suggested.

"I can't. Do you guys not know what STUCK means?"

Scarlet and Wally were listening in as they kept vigil at the slide entrance, explaining politely to all the other snot-covered, drooling children that no, they could NOT use this slide, because their very grumpy friend Roy was stuck in it and might eat them if they went down it...

"What position are you in, son?" Oliver asked, trying to picture how Roy was stuck.

"The fetal position, dang it! I can't move! Just get me out of here, Ollie."

Ollie sighed, pulling back. "He's really stuck. I think we're going to have to call the fire department." he said.

"The media would totally jump all over that." Bruce said, sighing. "Why can't anything be simple with these four?"

Oliver sighed. "I know, but what else can we do?"

At the top of the slide, Scarlet and Wally were having a discussion. "Hey Wally, do you think we could get Roy unstuck? I mean, we are heroes and all, and he needs help..."

Wally looked thoughtful. "You know, I bet we could. Roy called me a little slime last week, that means I might just make him slippery enough to get him out..."

Scarlet looked curious. "You don't look slimy, but let's give it a try..."

Just as Ollie was getting his phone out to call the fire department, Wally's voice drifted down to them. "Hang on, Roy, Scarlet and I are going to help you!"

"What?" Roy asked, slightly shocked, before he realized what they were going to do. "Oh nonononononono!" he was cut off by a large bang as the two slid into him, side by side, whamming him and knocking him loose.

A moment later all three children tumbled out, landing at Oliver's feet...

"Uhhh..." Roy's head lolled to the side and he tasted blood...

"Roy! Are you alright?" Oliver asked, seeing the blood pouring from him nose. Bruce handed the boy a few cheap McDonalds napkins to hold to it...

"Yeah, I think so. I just remembered why I hate play lands." Roy stood, striding over to the table and sighing, sitting down to his combo...

"That was awesome! I'm glad I got it all on video!" Dick grinned, holding up his phone.

"You didn't..." Roy gulped, nearly choking on his cheese burger.

"We saved your life, Roy! It was worth recording..." Scarlet said, taking a bite of a chicken nugget.

Roy realized she'd gotten barbecue sauce on her nose and smiled slightly, wiping it away and deciding he'd let Dick get away with keeping the video... for now.

Wally cracked jokes that were so lame that Roy had to laugh, as did the others, but soon the meal was finished, and Wally, Dick, and Scarlet were heading back up into the play land...

"You coming, Roy?" Scarlet asked.

"Not after that little incident, no." Roy said firmly, and Scarlet's smile dimmed slightly.

Roy sighed. "Aw, it isn't your fault, kid. I'm just way too big for that now..." Roy explained, and she nodded, "Okay, see you oater, then..." she chirped, before scrambling up the ladder and disappearing into the maze of tubes...

It wasn't more than two minutes later when Bruce looked up to see Dick about twenty feet off the ground, not in, but on top of a tube, in the open air, where he could easily fall and break some bones...

Several parents were gasped and pointing, and Dick waved to Bruce, flashing his normal easygoing grin.

"Dickey bird, can you come down for me?" Bruce asked.

"Sure Tati. We were playing hide and seek..." Dick easily climbed down, much to everyone's relief, before darting back into the play place...

"How the heck did he even get up there?" Barry asked, and Bruce shrugged nonchalantly as Dick jumped down and Bruce caught him, letting the boy scamper back into the play place...

The next miniature crisis occurred twenty minutes later, when two girls that looked to be about nine were dragging a boy of about five out of the play land.

"Mommy, Jimmy peed." the one girl said, and instantly, all conversation in the room stopped. There was a moment where everyone stared at the mom, who blushed, horribly embarrassed, and took her wet son into the bathroom...

Every parent in the room whipped out their phones and started texting their children to get out of the play place and watch for wet spots. Bruce and Barry were no exception. Word spread like wildfire, and soon children were shrieking and scrambling down anyway possible. More than one little girl came out in tears because she'd stumbled and fell or managed to crawl through the pee trail...

"Where's Scarlet?" Bruce asked, looking through the mob. He saw Wally and Dick, who hurried over.

"Scarlet didn't make it out." Dick said seriously.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked. They were talking about it like it was some nuclear apocalypse, not just an accident in the play place...

"She was in the danger zone." Wally said, studying the floor.

Everyone looked up at the same time to see it. Twenty feet up, in a yellow box with bubble plexiglass windows, at a dead end in the tube maze, was Scarlet, knees curled to her chest, looking like it was the end of the world.

Bruce grabbed his cell phone and called her quickly. Everyone in the room was watching.

"Scarlet? You okay?" he asked.

"Turn it on speaker." Someone demanded.

Bruce rolled his eyes but obeyed.

"Fine, Daddy, it's just... there's a really big puddle... and I don't want to go through it..."

"Okay, just hang in there, will you, Scarlet?"

"Alright..." Bruce sighed. "We'll get someone to go up and clean it..."

The mother of the boy who'd wet himself exited the washroom, looking close to tears from the incident... She was obviously pregnant, there was no way she could go up and do it...

"There ain't no way I'm cleaning that up." Announced the cleaning lady, who was a woman who looked a bit big to fit in the tunnels, even if she'd felt inclined to clean up the mess. She'd pulled out the cart of cleaning supplies, at least.

Roy looked up, and Scarlet put her hand on the plexiglass bubble window, looking down as though desperate... He sighed. Scarlet was like his little sister, and there was no way he was leaving the kid up there...

"For gosh sakes, someone here has to have some balls!" Roy said, grabbing rubber gloves, a roll of paper towels, and disinfectant spray. He nodded up at Scarlet, who grinned. Roy was coming for her. Everything wold be okay, now...

"Ollie, take my phone." he shoved it into his father's hands, ditching his black hoodie to reveal a white t-shirt... he hoped it'd stay white.

"Take these with ya." the cleaning lady handed him a plastic trash bag. "For ya used paper towels."

"Thanks." Roy rolled his eyes before sighing, taking a breath if air and starting up the little raised plastic ovals that acted as ladders in this little tube maze...

Gosh, he could already smell it. He thought about the route carefully. It was already uncomfortably hit and stuffy in the tubes, making every smell more awful... At least he'd disregarded the rules. There was no WAY he was taking off his shoes now, not with pee in here...

His thoughts drifted once again to Scarlet, poor kid, trapped by a puddle of pee in this in only socks...

He was brought back to the present by a junction of tubes. Right or left? He had no idea. The tubes changed color every five feet, it was a friggin rainbow maze...

"Scarlet?" he yelled.

"Roy!" the voice was faint, and Roy sighed, realizing he had a lot of twists and turns to make before he found her. Luckily, he stumbled on the trail a moment later. Stupid pee... H was wearing gloves, thankfully, and the smell of disinfectant was welcome as he wiped up the mess, before disinfecting the area...

H kept crawling on like that, content his knees were wet from disinfected surfaces, not urine. Finally, after ten minutes of serious cleaning, the fumes from the lysol were starting to get to him. He was feeling kinda light headed...

He almost fell face first into the mother load, then. Almost. He caught himself at the last second, mopping up the huge puddle of pee and tossing the drenched paper towels into the trash bag he'd dragged behind him, spraying, no, actually, drenching the area and scrubbing it with lysol before he looked up to see Scarlet.

"Roy!" she chirped, so happy to see him.

Down below, Oliver stared, relieved, as he saw Roy enter the small boxy compartment with Scarlet, alive... He'd been worried ever since the hit five minutes of Roy's rescue mission.

"I can't believe he did it..." Wally said, looking up in awe.

"We aren't home free yet, kid." Roy said, pulling off his rubber gloves and tossing them into the trash bag before spraying his bare hands with disinfectant, doing the same for Scarlet. "Now, I did my best to clean everything up, but you're in socks, so there's no way I'm letting you walk across the floor. It's still wet from the disinfectant, you'd slip and break your face open..." he tied off the trash bag, nodding to Scarlet.

"I'll carry you, but you need to hold this..." Roy handed her the trash bag, which she held willingly, along with the disinfectant spray... Roy picked her up, not letting her stocking feet touch the ground...

"The lysol fumes will get to your head, but we'll be out of here soon enough..." Roy assured her, starting forward in a crouch, moving painfully slowly to avoid hitting his head as he carried her...

He ditched his original route, choosing to go into another tube, hoping he knew where it'd lead... He was going to pass out if he didn't escape the stupid labyrinth and the lysol fumes...

Scarlet started coughing, and beads of sweat broke out on Roy's forehead. It was hot in here, so hot...

"Yes!" he choked out. He never thought he'd be so glad to see another slide in his life...

He tossed down the trash bag and disinfectant, knowing Ollie would remove the bag and can in time, before nodding to Scarlet. "Dang it... I hate play lands..." Roy muttered, and slid down the slide, holding Scarlet...

They both just gasped for breath for a moment, and Roy looked up to see everyone in the food court applauding...

He stood, looking disgusted. "Let's get out of here." he said, looking at Oliver. And that was when Bruce decided they would never return to that McDonalds. And Oliver learned that when it came down to it, Roy was a pretty good big brother.


	31. In which it Batman is a parent

**Okay, here's the next chapter, where, ironically, Batman gives the league a lesson on parenting, Next chapter Batman and his birds bust some baddies! Go alliteration! :)**

It was another late August day. The mentors, as usual, were busy in a meeting, leaving Roy, Robin, Sparrow, and KF to there own devices.

"I say we hide and see what they do about it." Dick said calmly. They were trying to think of ways to prank their mentors...

"Why not train for a bit?" Roy asked. "I hear the league has androids they train with. Sounds a ton more interesting than just plain old sparring..."

"I know where they keep them!" Sparrow was already scampering over to the locked cupboard in the training room. She pulled a bobby pin from her raven hair and inserted it into the master lock, fiddling for a few moments... It clicked open.

"Eleven seconds. Not bad." Robin grinned, and Wally, and excited blur, opened the cupboard and started dragging out the training bots...

"What level should we set them on?" Dick asked. But Wally was already setting them up, messing with the settings...

"Ready for combat. Attack will commence in ten seconds..." one of them announced.

"Wally, what level did you set it on?" Robin asked, not really worried. He and Scarlet had trained with the bots before, they weren't that hard...

"Ten." Wally said, unpreturbed.

"Wait, what? I've only trained on level six before!" Robin said, staring at Wally and then at the six bots.

"It shouldn't be too hard. Not with all four of us." Wally said, shrugging off Dick's concern. Just then, the bots started shooting lasers. The frantic kids jumped and dodged, desperate not to be shot...

"Get behind the couch!" Roy yelled, taking aim at the lead bot and firing off an arrow. The robot caught it before it hit it's chest, before snapping it in half, and Roy gulped. This was going to be hard...

"Sparrow! Delta four!" Robin yelled, and both of them flipped into the air, Scarlet landing on the bot's shoulder and taking out the sensor in it's back, head, and stomach before leaping, managing to land shakily on the next bot...

Robin worked faster, twisting in mid-air to avoid the laser beam.

"Distract them!" Scarlet yelled, and Wally did what he did best, being annoying, He ran around them in circles, while Roy managed to snare some of the ots in foam and trick arrows...

"Roy, we need cover, now!" Robin announced. In total, only one bot had been disabled. All the others were still operating...

Roy fired off an explosive arrow that gave them some smoke cover for a moment, before deciding to dodge into close-range firing.

Unbeknownst to them, he mentors had been attracted by the commotion and were watching in the wings, Flash moved to help them, but Batman stopped him with a raised hand. "Wait. Let's see if they can do it." he said.

He watched Scarlet dodge a mechanical punch and launch herself up, both feet striking on the bot's chest and sending him stumbling back inti Wally, who'd made himself into a speed-bump. The robot hit the floor, knocking out the last sensor on his back...

Roy and Robin had tamed up, as well, Robin doing flips and faking out the robots while Roy trapped them with foam arrows, before knocking the last few sensors out of them. After five minutes of struggle, the last bot powered down...

"Almost... didn't make it..." Roy panted, and Scarlet nodded her agreement.

"How many times have we told you not to use the bots unsupervised?" Batman thundered, startling them all. "You ma have beat them this time, but what it you hadn't? They aren't programmed to stop- they could've killed you."

"Yeah... but they didn't. I did it... WE did it..." Roy grinned at his comrades, who looked as though they wanted to exchange high fives at the moment, Batman had to admit, taking down six bots at their age on level ten, which was when they started using lasers, was a big accomplishment, but he wouldn't praise them after they'd disobeyed him...

"Clean up the bots. Robin, Sparrow, you're grounded for two days." Batman said firmly, before striding out of the room.

All the rest of the mentors followed, and Superman gave Batman a questioning look. "They did really well. Why would you punish them?"

"They disobeyed orders. What will it teach them if they get off free? That it's okay to disobey orders- they disobeyed orders once in Gotham and they'd be DEAD. So I punish them." Batman said simply, not at all bothered.

"But... they think you hate them..." Oliver said, looking troubled.

"No they don't- it's clear you're still pretty new to the entire father thing, Queen." Batman said. "Punishment and pleasure both require a delicate balance. They know I'm ticked off because they disobeyed orders and did something dangerous. They also know that by the time we get back to the Batcave, if they behave, it'll be forgotten. Forgive and forget. Live and learn." Batman said calmly, looking completely stone-faced, as normal.

"So, you really do care about them?" Wonder Woman asked, studying the Dark Knight's expression.

They saw something like disbelief and pain okay out under the cowl, though it was very hard to tell.

"Of course I do. They're my children." and with that, Batman turned to leave, cape sweeping the floor as he headed to his room- he had paperwork to do, political meetings to arrange... He saw out of the corner of his eye the children cleaning up the bots and smiled slightly beneath the cowl- something he'd found himself doing a lot more these past eleven months since he adopted two little rays of sunshine.


	32. Lost

Even though they'd been at the watch tower a few times, they'd mainly stuck to the main rooms together. Yes, that's right. Roy, Robin, KF, and Sparrow were once again in the watch tower...

"Okay, so what should we do?" Roy asked. He was personally wanting to just take a nap. He'd been up late all last night doing homework, t he hadn't seen his surrogate brothers and sister in two weeks since the McDonald's incident, and he had felt a little guilty...

"Can we go exploring?" Sparrow asked, cocking her head like a curious animal.

"You know what... sure..." Roy sighed, standing wearily. For once, he wasn't sure if he could take their antics...

Wally had started humming a shockingly hated tune. "If you start singing anything from Dora I will punch you out." Roy threatened, and Wally promptly shut up.

"Where do we explore?" Dick asked.

"Let's just run around..." Sparrow said, before taking off around the corner.

"Wait up, guys..." Roy grumbled.

"It's not our fault you're a geezer!" Dick yelled, knowing it would enrage Roy. He was right, of course, and Roy's rage fueled him enough to have him stay a steady twenty feet behind the sprinting children...

"Geezer geezer geezer!" Sparrow yelled, racing around another twist and turn in the labyrinth that was the watch tower, her younger two brothers giggling uncontrollably as they raced along beside her.

"Roy, you're so old! If you had a lawn you'd be yelling at us to get off it!" Wally yelled, and they broke out once again in giggles. All this t,e they were still running, getting stitches in their sides from laughter and running...

"I'm gonna kill you guys!" Roy roared, still running after them, his exhaustion now forgotten, replaced by anger.

Sparrow tripped and ended up plunging face first into the wall, and Roy, Dick and Wally skidded to a halt...

"Sparrow!" Roy yelled, though this time it was out of concern, not anger.

Sparrow scrambled to her feet, tears streaming down her face. "Please don' kill me, Roy, I'm sorry I called you old..." she said, trembling and looking scared. "But you got all scary- and so I kept running..." she broke down crying once again, and Roy instantly felt guilt wash over him as he pulled the frightened six year old into his lap.

"Shh, shh, Sparrow, I won't hurt you..."

"You promise? You got all scary, Roy, I don' like it when you get scary..."

"I promise, kid. I don't like it when I get all scary either..." Roy admitted, drying her tears before she shakily stood. Dick and Wally peered out from behind another corner, and Roy sighed. "Come on out, I won't kill you two either..." he promised. And so they both scurried over too.

"Now, how long have you guys been running for your lives?" Roy joked.

Robin checked his watch. "Ten minutes. We're sorry, Roy, but you couldn't keep up, and we knew if we got you angry..."

"So you were willing to risk me killing you just to play with me?" Roy asked, surprised.

" 'Course we were, Roy. We love you!" Sparrow said, and Roy chuckled, shaking his head. He didn't deserve such wonderful surrogate siblings...

"What are we going to do now, Roy?" Sparrow asked as she looked around, Roy realized then that he didn't recognise the corridors they were in...

"Hey Roy, it's dinner time. We should get to the dining hall, or Batman will be worried..." Robin said.

"First let's try and figure out where we are..." Roy said. He sighed in frustration, realizing he had no idea where they were, and were surrounded by four corridors possibly directions the could go in...

Roy sighed. "Okay, so we're officially lost. Anyone have any ideas?"

"Call for help?" Wally suggested.

"No! Then they'll think we're irresponsible! We are responsible!" Robin said firmly, shaking Wally.

"Says the boy who thought it was a good idea to make me angry and almost get them killed." Roy said dryly.

"Roy, this isn't funny! We're really lost!" Wally said frantically.

"Wally, calm down..." Roy tried, but the red head's eyes grew even wider.

"Calm down? Calm down!? I could _starve_! I'm a speedster, if we're lost for like, two hours and I don't have food, I pass out! I'm going to die! Help me Robin, help me, I'm spiraling!" the ten year old pleaded, grabbing Robin by the shoulders and shaking him as fat tears rolled down his cheeks...

"Get a grip!" Robin yelled, slapping his friend across the face. Wally slumped to the floor and stopped hyper-ventilating. "Thanks, I needed that..."

"Look, no one is going to die, guys. We can get back to the main hall... somehow..."

"I have an idea." Sparrow piped up, pointing down a corridor. "Why don't we go that way? If we keep going in one direction long enough, we'll get somewhere..."

Roy nodded. "Makes sense. Okay, let's go..." And so they struck out forward, until they reached a dead end in another twenty minutes.

"Alright. Let's go left this time." Robin suggested, and so they kept going, turning left at every intersection of the hallways for another half hour, until they realized they'd been walking in a huge square...

"This is hopeless!" Roy yelled, punching the wall out of frustration. "We're never going to find our way back! Look, I don't care how irresponsible the league thinks we are after this, I just want to get _somewhere!" _Roy announced, livid.

"I want Tati, Robin..." Sparrow whispered, eyes filling with tears...

"Okay, okay, I'll call them..." Robin punched in the sequence into his communicator and gaped. "The batteries are dead." he said, eyes growing wide.

"Let me try... Dang it, I left my communicator in my other pants!" Roy said.

"Wally?" Sparrow asked hopefully.

"Sparrow, I'm the least responsible one here. You really think my communicator works if there's doesn't? Besides, I kinda sat on it..."

"Sparrow, please tell me your battery isn't dead..." Roy pleaded with her.

"No... it's not... In fact, it's sitting on the charger."

"Really!? Where?" Roy asked, getting hopeful.

"At home." Sparrow said.

"Nooo!" everyone said in unison, and Sparrow started to cry a little.

"Roy, I'm hungry and tired and I want my Tati..." she said, feeling the despair wash over her as a few tears escaped her eyes.

"Well crying won't help it any!" Roy snapped. He was hungry and tired too, and his patience was wearing thin...

At the look Sparrow gave him, he instantly relented. "Sorry, Sparrow, I just... look, we're all tired, hungry, and lost, alright? But we'll be okay... because... we're together." he said, giving her a weak smile, which she returned.

"Okay, now we need a plan of action. We're totally lost in a huge satellite orbiting Earth and we haven't seen anyone in two hours. What should we do? We need to find a landmark, something we recognize..."

They all looked around to find nothing.

"Hey, what if we found a window? We could look at the stars and try and figure out where we are by the constellations..." Robin suggested, and Roy perked up.

"Sounds like a plan. Okay, a window, a window..." They spent the next twenty minutes searching in vain, and Roy sighed. "no windows... okay..."

"Hey Roy, why is there a mailbox here?" Sparrow asked, pointing to a small chute in the wall...

"That's not a mail box, Sparrow, that's a just a laundry chute..." Roy said, before he gaped.

"A laundry chute! To the laundry room! At least we'll know where we, are, then..."

"But none of us know how to get back to the main room from the laundry room, Roy." Robin said, looking a bit skeptical.

"Robin, I don't even care. I want to get somewhere, and this..." he said, motioning to the laundry chute. "Is somewhere. Now, are we going, or what?"

"I'll go!" Sparrow chirped happily, and before anyone could stop her, she had scrambled into the cute and was gone.

Her joyful screams echoed out to them, until there was a loud bang and silence...

"Oh my gosh! It ate Sparrow!" Wally yelled. "And we thought it was a laundry chute... I'm coming, Sparrow!" he jumped in as well, sliding after her, anxious...

Roy and Robin anxiously followed, Roy glad he could at least fit into the chute... The next three minutes were, possibly, the worst in his life. He was slammed into the sides of the chute, since there was a complex system of twists and turns the chute had to take to get to the laundry room. They'd been told there were chutes all over the tower, and Roy had never been so relieved to plunge out of the metal death trap and into a huge bin of dirty clothing...

"That was awesome!" Wally yelled, grinning. "I can't believe we did that!"

"Wally, where's Sparrow?" Robin asked, eyes nervously scanning the surface of all the spandex costumes...

Wally paled. "I... THE LAUNDRY ATE HER!"

"Sparrow!" Roy yelled, realizing what had happened and feeling horror well up within him. The clothes seemed to be like quick sand, you fell into the gaps between then, and Sparrow had probably slid under the slippery mass of spandex...

"I'm coming, kid!" Roy yelled, digging frantically through the costumes. Wally and Robin quickly joined him, until Roy caught sight of something that seemed to be plucked straight from a horror movie... A small hand appeared ti reach up from the surface of clothing, and it was wiggling frantically...

"There!" he seized the wrist and pulled, Wally and Robin helping, until they'd managed to free the littlest bird from a mound of costumes...

Sparrow gasped for air, sprawling on the clothes. "I... I got my face stuck in... sweaty socks..." she gasped.

Wally started tearing up. "It's okay, Sparrow- it's going to be okay..." he said, hugging her as though she'd come back from the dead. Roy realized the exhaustion and hunger was making them all slightly crazy as he jumped down from the huge, industrial sized bin, helping each of his siblings down after him.

"Okay, we're in the laundry room..." Roy said. At the moment, his three friends were gaping at all the water swishing in the thirty washers going...

"can i get in one? Just for the spin cycle?" Sparrow asked hopefully.

"No." Roy said firmly. "Now, we're in the laundry room... we just have to figure out how to get back to the main room..." Roy sighed, realizing he had absolutely no idea how to do that. It was going to be a long night...


	33. Found, maybe?

**Okay, what do you think? I figure if the watch tower is so huge and they only have been there a few times, it's easy to get lost... When i get tired and hungry i can;t think straight, and that's what's going to happen to them, until it's mentors to the rescue... Please review!**

"They still aren't here, Bats." Superman said, looking over at his friend as they ate dinner in the cafeteria. "You think everything is alright?"

Batman nodded. "They haven't seen Roy and Wally in two weeks. They're probably just horsing around like they do and having too much fun to remember to eat..."

That had been three hours ago. Now almost all the leaguers were gathered around in the dining room, looking concerned as they murmured theories about where the four sidekicks could be. Because, despite all outward appearances, the sidekicks were like everyone's children. Hawkwoman in particular had taking a liking to Sparrow the day she'd said, blatantly honest, as little kids are, "Woah... you have huge wings on your back!" to her. And everyone had fallen in love with the sidekicks from that day forward.

Black Canary saw underneath Roy's tough facade a boy who needed love, and everyone else, though they could be trying at times, seemed to brighten and laugh more when one of the children was in the room with them. Heck, having all four was a recipe for a good time... And that was why everyone was so concerned when the little bright spots in the hard career of being a superhero hadn't appeared for dinner that night.

"It's been three hours, Batman, I believe it is time to worry." Wonder Woman said.

"Maybe they're just asleep or something." Flash said, trying to be optimistic.

"Asleep? Really, Barry? Those three are known for having more laughs together than the Joker. And they haven't seen each other in two weeks. There is no way they are sleeping."

"Which begs the question, where are they?" Oliver asked, and all eyes drifted over to Batman.

"Come on, Bruce- we all know how paranoid you are. You have tracking devices planted on sparrow and Robin, don't even try to deny it. Now activate them. We're all worried..." Black Canary said, and Batman reached for his wrist computer and activated a holographic map. Those who knew him enough to read him, which was only Superman and Wonder Woman, saw his brow crease with concern beneath the cowl.

"There tracking devices are offline." he said grimly.

"Okay... NOW we panic." Flash announced.

* * *

"Ahhh!" Sparrow and Robin weren't playing tag at the moment. No, on the contrary, they were running for there lives with Roy and Wally. They hadn't realized it, but the laundry room was right next to the boiler room, and Sparrow had been terrified by the sudden _whoosh_ of the furnace turning on and started sprinting to get as far away from it as she could...

"Sparrow! Sparrow, slow down, kid..." Roy pleaded, but the girl paid him no heed. She was exhausted, her nerves were shot, and she was going to get as far away from that scary noise as possible...

She only stopped when she collapsed, which, thanks to her training, wasn't until five minutes later, when they'd lost all hope of figuring out where they were...

"I... ugg..." Roy huffed, falling to the floor beside her. How could one kid be so fast? Everyone's lungs were burning from the frantic sprint, and Wally was looking half dead, eyes glazed over. Roy knew the speedster's blood sugar was dropping, and Sparrow was on the brink of not being able to walk anymore. Robin looked worse for the wear too, face pale and his hands shaking slightly from exhaustion and exertion...

"I... okay... We aren't going to make it back to the main room." he said.

He expected Sparrow to cry again, but she didn't- whether it was because she'd already figured this out before him or she was simply to exhausted to cry, Roy had no idea. Wally was crying, though. "Roy... I'm so hungry... I'm gonna faint soon..." Wally cried, worming his way over to Roy.

"Wally... just breathe, wally... they'll come looking for us soon..." Roy promised. But in truth, he was scared. What if Wally did pass out? What if the speedster starved before the league found them?

"Wally... here." Robin croaked, and Roy saw the boy holding out a chocolate bar. "I was saving it for when things got really desperate..." he explained. Wally snatched it and was about to eat it all when he looked around at his friends.

"I... we'll share it." he announced, breaking the bar into four pieces.

"Wally- no. You need it most..." Roy tried to reason, but Wally shook his head. "At least... at least have a little..." he ordered, and Roy took one square of chocolate to appease him, as did Robin...

"Not hungry... tired..." Sparrow muttered, making Roy's worry increase tenfold. How could she not be hungry? The kid weighed forty pounds and was tiny...

"At least if we gotta die... we can die together..." Sparrow murmured, crawling over to Roy and curling against the older boy. Robin crawled over and got on Sparrow's other side, and Wally on Roy's other side. Roy found himself laying on his stomach, arms around both children like a bird, cheek mushed against the ground... He was so tired, he simply let sleep take over...

* * *

"They've been missing for three hours, they could be anywhere. We need to split up..." Superman instructed. "Black Canary, Wonder Woman, and Hawk Woman will take the fourth, Green Lantern, hawkman, and Plastic Man will take the third, Batman, Flash and I the second, and Green arrow, Aquaman, and Martain Manhunter the first. We stay in constant contact, is that understood? The kids could be hurt or something, and we'll use all necessary caution. Good luck everyone."

And with that, the searchers dispersed. They hardly spoke, so great was there concern for the youngest members of the league, and worry pervaded the entire watch tower.

After a half an hour of calling with no responses, Aquaman pointed to what appeared to be a heap of something in the distance. "What is that?" he asked. He and Martain Manhunter raced forward, hearts in there throats...

"It's them." Martain Manhunter said, dismayed, as he looked down at the four bodies. Aquaman fell to his knees, slightly frantic, checking for pulses...

"They're all uninjured." he announced, looking immensely relieved as he got on his communicator.

"Aquaman to everyone, we've found them- all of them. They're unhurt, just asleep, down by the maintenance hatch..."

It seemed as though a collective sigh of relief went through everyone, and within five minutes all the members were assembled around the children...

"Ohh..." Black canary said quietly, a tender expression adorning her features when she saw the four curled up like they were, looking so adorable...

"They're so cute..." Wonder Woman cooed, looking down at them.

"Move." Everyone heard the tone cold voice and parted like the red sea, and Batman strode towards his proteges, looking... anxious... as he saw them. No, he couldn't be anxious... he was Batman, and many dismissed him look for mild concern... His features immediately softened when he saw them, but he pursed his lips and bent down, eyes searching his children for any visible injuries...

He turned Sparrow's arm over, revealing a large, puffy bruise forming on her arm, and a collective gasp rose from the audience of heroes.

"I want them all to get comprehensive medical exams, now." Batman ordered, gently extracting his daughter from the heap of sleeping children on the floor, cradling her close to his chest before carrying her to the med bay, returning for Robin a moment later.

Flash and Green Arrow soon followed suit, and the leaguers watched the mentors slowly examine there proteges...

Batman gently pulled off Sparrow's cape, using extreme caution as he gently pulled off the top of her uniform, revealing a white tank top and more bruises on the pale arms, and pulling off her mask, revealing the bruise on her cheek...

Batman frowned, moving onto robin. He pulled his son's shirt off, and the boy, surprisingly, slept through it.

Flash and Green Arrow were doing the same for there proteges, Flash giving wally an IV to keep his metabolism at bay, before they met with the others outside.

"They're all beat up, covered in bruises and scrapes." Batman confirmed, casting a glance over his shoulder at the children, who still hadn't stirred.

Superman stepped forward. "Are you saying they were attacked?" he asked seriously.

"I'm saying it's a possibility. You think they beat each other up?" Batman asked.

Superman let out a breath. "Whoever did it is going to pay..."

"If we can figure out who. We clearly aren't getting any information until they wake up."

"I take it we have a mission, then? Find whoever did this to them and take care of them. I hate scum who hurt children- but someone who hurts THOSE children has gone way too far." Hal Jordan said, motioning to the children in the medbay.

"We'll take care of whoever responsible later. Right now, I just want them awake." Batman said firmly, before he disappeared back into the room.

The next twelve hours were tense, the leaguers all wanting the children to wake up and tell them who it was who'd managed to give them the bruises so they could make them pay...

"Tati?" Sparrow asked, blinking sleepily.

At her voice, Batman hurried over to be beside the bed, and all the leaguers who'd been milling around rushed inside.

"Sparrow- who did this to you?" Batman asked, motioning to the bruises.

"These...?" he eyes lingered on the bruises for a moment, before she looked up. "Oh, that was the laundry chute. It was fun, but it kinda hurt..."

"Ugg..." everyone turned to see the other three children watching them curiously, eyes open... It took them a minute to fully comprehend what Sparrow had said.

"Yeah, it was the laundry chute... not my best idea..." Roy said, wincing when he felt the bruises on his ribcage throbbing.

"You went down the _laundry chute?" _Batman asked, voice deadly. How clould they have done something so STUPID!?

"We... we got lost, Tati, and our communicators died, and we had no idea where we were and we were hungry and tired..." Sparrow said, looking slightly scared.

"We figured the laundry chute would take us to the laundry room and we might be able to find our way back from there." Robin explained.

"So... no one attacked you? You got this beat up by taking the _laundry chute?" _Superman asked.

"Please don't be mad! we didn't know what else to do!" Sparrow squeaked, eyes filling with tears.

"I'm not mad, birdie..." Superman assured her, still looking slightly confused. "So, all this time, you guys were lost?"

"it's a big place here, Uncle Clark. Really big." Sparrow said.

"And we figured we were gonna starve to death, so we figured we'd just let it happen..." Wally said.

"Alright, why don't you guys rest?" Flash suggested, and the leaguers withdrew form the room. Black Canary stared. "So... no one attacked them?"

Batman chuckled slightly, a gravelly, could chuckle that made everyone shudder slightly.

"W-what? Why are you laughing?" Superman asked, suddenly afraid. No one had witnessed the dark knight laugh before, except for once, when he'd managed to make a man they were interrogating wet himself.

"Only they would think the laundry chute would get them somewhere." Batman said, before walking off.

**Like the conclusion to the lost section? This was inspired by the Foster's home for imaginary friends episode where they get lost in the house... Anywho, I just had to throw in the part where the league was ready to start a war once they figured out who 'attacked' them, and the laundry chutes might play a part in the sequel to this story, the Second bird, sometime. Do you guys want me to continue with the Roy and Wally bonding friendship thing? Because I have quite a few ideas about what's going to happen with that... Anyways, please review! :)**


	34. Yet another Milestone

**Okay, anither Daddy Bats chaoter that's focused on Dick and Bruce, since, YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH DADDY BATS! This chapter is mainly starring a concerned! Bruce!. This is homecoming week my school, and today is Batman day! We have 2 dress up like Batman, lol! Please review! :) **

Bruce first noticed it at dinner one night in the Wayne Manor. Dick was eating a lot more than he usually did, not even making conversation like he loved to do. He was too intent on eating to do that...

Bruce smiled slightly, relieved. It was a welcome change from Dick's normal eating habits, where he ate so little it actually worried Bruce sometimes...

"Hungry, Dickey?" Bruce asked.

Dick looked up, then nodded, before continuing to eat...

Bruce smiled and shook his head, just happy to see the boy eating...

The red flags went off when he, Dick, and Scarlet were watching TV later... Scarlet was asleep in his lap, but it was hardly even seven thirty...

Dick yawned, and leaned against Bruce slightly.

"Tati, can I go to bed?" he asked, looking at Bruce with drooping eyelids...

"What!?" Bruce stared. Dick never went to bed early...

"Can I go to bed, I asked..." Dick said, being cut off by a large yawn...

"... Of course..." Bruce said, but his red flags were raised... "Hang on a minute, though..." Bruce said, setting Scarlet down on the chair to his left before kneeling in front of his son and feeling Dick's forehead.

"You feeling alright, Dickey Bird?" Bruce asked, still concerned. Dick wasn't warm at all, he wasn't running a fever...

"Fine, Tati... just tired..." Dick said, being interrupted once again by a huge yawn. "'Night, Tati..."

"Goodnight, Dick..." but Bruce was still slightly worried by his son's behavior, and he gently tucked Scarlet in, before entering Dick's room and finding the boy already sacked out in bed. He smiled slightly- Dick looked cute- but he felt Dick's forehead once more, still worried by his son's behavior...

All of Gotham's worst were in prison, and Bruce decided Batman could take a night off- half from knowing that, and the other half out of worry Dick was getting sick.

He managed, after a few minutes of worry, to fall asleep himself...

"Bruce! Bruce!" he woke up around midnight, hearing Dick calling for him, and jumped out of bed, hurrying down he hall to Dick's room...

"Dick?" Bruce perched on the edge of his bed, seeing his son in tears... "Are you alright?"

"No... I hurt, Bruce, really bad..." Dick said, looking at Bruce with fear in his eyes.

"Alright, Dickey bird, it's alright..." Bruce promised, gently pulling the blankets off the boy. "Let me see where, alright?"

Dick nodded, pointing to his thighs just above his knees... "It really hurts, Tati..." he said, gasping as another stab of pain hit him...

"It's okay, Dickie, it's okay..." Bruce said, starting to rub the afflicted area and watching his son's face. "How does that feel?" he asked, hoping to ease the pain, whatever it was...

"Better..." Dick sniffed, still looking pale...

"What else is wrong, Dickie?" Bruce asked. He'd moved to gently massaging the area, since it seemed to ease the boy's pain...

"N-nothing... my legs just... really hurt..." Dick admitted.

"Does this help?" Bruce asked, as he continued to massage just above the boy's knees, In truth, he'd do anything to ease the boy's pain...

"Y-yeah... Thanks for coming, Bruce..." Dick murmured, before his eyes fell closed and he was asleep again.

Bruce looked down at his son, brow creased with concern... He let up from massaging for a moment, laying his hand on his son's forehead to find it still the normal temperature... He frowned, laying his hand next on the sleeping boy's cheek...

Dick whimpered, an Bruce quickly returned to massaging the boy's legs, feeling his worry for his son's health return...

He stayed in the room for two hours, before Dick's pain appeared to have abated and the boy was fast asleep...

Even then, he only stopped to contemplate calling Dr. Leslie, but elected not to leave his son...

In the morning, Dick slept later than usual, but he seemed fine... Bruce went to get dressed for work, convinced it'd been a one time thing, until he got home from work...

"Hello, Master Bruce..." Alfred greeted him as usual as Bruce shed his suit coat. It was summer, late June, to be exact, and there was no way he wanted to be stuck in the restricting coat anymore than he had to be...

"Where's Dick and Scarlet?" Bruce asked, slightly concerned. The two were like little dogs, always running to greet him when he got home... He swore if they'd had tails, they'd be wagging. So he was worried when they didn't come to greet him...

"Master Dick is sleeping in the main room... Scarlet grew bored without him to play with, but I believe she decided to sleep as well..."

"Asleep? But they were both asleep last night..." Bruce said, feeling incredibly confused. Dick had hardly been up for a half an hour last night from being achy, and he'd gone to bed early last night, as well, so he shouldn't be sleeping during the day... He was really worried now.

He left his briefcase on the table and entered the living room to find Dick curled up on the couch, Scarlet snuggled against his chest, his chin resting on his sister's head, and Bruce almost stopped and smiled, were it not for his growing worry...

He felt both their foreheads to find their temperatures were normal.

Still, it had been niggling at him all day that something was wrong with Dick- his son almost NEVER slept that much...

Alfred started cooking, and the smell wafted into the living room... Dick's eyes opened, and he looked around sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "Is dinner ready, Bruce?" he asked, looking at his father, bleary-eyed...

"Not yet, Dickey..." Bruce said, taking a seat beside the boy on the couch. "You sure you're feeling alright, Dickey? You've been sleeping an awful lot lately..."

"Fine, Tati. Just a little tired..." Dick assured him, sighing and stretching. "Just hungry..." he left Scarlet on the couch, heading to the kitchen...

Bruce watched the boy that night. He ate heartily, before nearly nodding off at the table...

"Mind if I go to bed, Bruce?" Dick asked once again.

Bruce stared. "Dick, I'm really starting to worry. You never ask to go to bed this early, you slept almost all day... are you sure you've been feeling alright?"

"I feel fine, Tati... better than usual, actually. I just really want to go to bed..."

"Alright. Goodnight, Dick..."

"G'night, Tati..." Dick yawned, before heading up to bed.

Bruce didn't sleep that night, instead waiting...

Sure enough, at around midnight, Dick called him. He found the boy curled into a ball on his bed, breathing hard...

"Legs again, Dickey?" Bruce asked, slightly nervous. Dick nodded, face twisted from pain.

"T-tati... what's wrong with me? I just want to sleep..." Dick muttered, as tears rolled down his face.

"I don't know, Dickey..." Bruce admitted, as he started, once again, to massage the boy's legs. Suddenly, it hit him...

"Dickey, can you stand up for me?"

"I'll try..." Dick winced until he managed to get to his feet... Bruce looked at his son for a minute, observing him, before he chuckled...

"What is it, Bruce?" Dick asked, obviously still in pain, as Bruce looked at him...

"You can lay down, Dickey. I figured out what's going on." Bruce assured him.

Dick obeyed, and Bruce continued to massage the aching flesh just above the boy's knees.

"You've noticed you eat a lot more lately? And sleep a ton more, too?" he asked, and Dick nodded. "And you've been achy, too. You're having a growth spurt, Dickey."

"Oh..." Dick murmured, and Bruce could feel the boy still relaxing as he massaged his achy legs.

"And these are called growing pains. Ever heard of them?"

Dick nodded. "My... my Mamica said I used to get them..." he murmured, but he was asleep before he could even finish the sentence. Bruce smiled quietly as he continued to massage Dick's legs, feeling at ease for awhile... Finally, he knew what was going on with his son. He remembered waking up a few times as a child with awful aches as well...

He remembered the times when his mother would hold him and his father would rub his back. His father was a doctor, so he knew what was going on... "Just growing pains, Bruce. They mean you're getting bigger..." he'd said. Bruce remembered it all, his mother's scent of lavender and her soft touch, the sound of her voice as she sang to him, his father's steady but gentle hand as he felt Bruce's abdomen to be sure he didn't have appendicitis and his diagnosis of simple growing pains...

"I see you've figured it out, then, Master Bruce." Alfred said. Bruce looked up, surprised to see Alfred in the doorway.

"Alfred. You knew?"

"Yes, Master Bruce, I did. I thought it best you figure it out, though, you are the boy's father..."

"How did you know?" Bruce asked. He never remembered Alfred helping him through the pain...

"I remember a certain young boy would get them years ago, and his mother would be awfully worried about him..."

Bruce chuckled. "I should've asked you in the first place, Alfred. You're practically a doctor yourself..."

Alfred smiled. "Perhaps. But then again, you're turning out to be quite a father, master Bruce. Now stay with him." Alfred nodded to Dick's sleeping form, before he left.

And Bruce found himself having yet another moment where he wished he could stop time and hold this moment forever. Because Dick was growing- faster than the realized. The boy had already gained practically an inch, and he was ten, going to be eleven next Spring...

His bird were growing up. Dang it, why did it have to happen? He knew he wasn't going to be able to watch out for them forever, but still, that didn't mean he didn't want to...

He sighed. He realized someday, he'd remember these days fondly... But for now, he'd love the new things each day brought.


	35. Soft Side?

**This is based of a review I got from little miss BANANA HEAD that I really wanted to do- please enjoy and review!**

Roy and Wally weren't there. Robin was busy doing homework. Batman was in a meeting. And she was BORED. Sparrow sighed. She wanted to go on the trapeze, and she did, but she found it boring without Robin...

It was then she noticed the vent on the wall and, simply out of curiosity, decided to pull out the grate, leap into it, and replace the grate. She was wondering where she could go...

She crawled through the vents, finding them rather dusty, but she continued on anyways, thinking it was like it's own little hallway...

Until she crawled over a loose grate and fell. Right onto the table in the meeting Batman was in.

All conversation stopped, and Sparrow scrambled to her knees, looking slightly frantic...

Everyone else was mainly startled. "Sparrow... out." Batman said calmly.

"Sorry Tati..." she blushed furiously, grabbing the gate and swinging back into the vent, replacing the grate and crawling away as fast as she could...

Batman chuckled as soon as she was out of the room, a low, gravelly chuckle...

Superman shook his head, grinning. "Crazy kid. Why'd she even get into the vents?"

"She got bored. Now, I say we threaten an air strike if they refuse to conform..."

But for a moment, everyone had seen the softer side of Batman when he'd chuckled, and it was... enlightening.


	36. Without a Net

**Okay, so people have been wanted Scarlet and Dick to go the circus. They do, but I kinda put my own little twist on it ;) hope yo oike! Please, please, please review! Also, Looking4mistera, I'm doing the matress of doom chapter in the Second bird!**

"You guys sure you want to do this?" Bruce asked as Scarlet clung to his hand tightly. He could see ever line in the girl's face was taught with apprehension, her posture similar to that of when she was on high alert, and Robin, too, was ill at ease beside him.

"We'll have to, sooner or later..." Dick said calmly. "We can't just never go back..." Dick was the one who had wanted this. It was March, the boy's birthday, and he'd asked for this... Bruce found it hard to believe he'd been caring for these children for almot a year already. Where had the time gone?

And so they entered the tent. The familiar smells washed over them- popcorn, cotton candy, and fried dough, with elephant poop, the oily smell of tent canvas, and sweat...

It was warm, so warm, and for a moment they were completely at home, and it wasn't Bruce Wayne's hand they were holding, but John Grayson's...

Bruce looked at them both sadly. He somewhat blamed himself- if e hadn't organized the fundraiser a year and a half ago that had ended in there parent's death... He could see everything written on their faces- the sadness, regret, longing... and most of all, the wondering. What would've happened if John and Mary Grayson hadn't died that night?

"What do you mean Elliot can't perform! He's the main act!" a booming voice cried to the right, and both children's eyes snapped open. Recognition lit up on their faces...

"Pop Haly!" they both were zipping towards the large, somewhat upset looking man...

"Scarlet? Dickey?" Pop Haly stared at the children who were both hugging his bulk, grinning. "Look how big you've gotten..."

"Maybe they could perform, Pop. Just like old times..." a clown suggested.

Pop Haly's brow creased. "No. I couldn't ask that of them, not without John and Mary..."

"We could do it, Pop..." Dick said quietly. Bruce heard something in his son's voice- pleading- and he realized that his children needed to do this.

"Mr. Wayne?" Pop asked, still unsure.

"I'm alright with it, Mr. Haly." Bruce said calmly. Inside, he didn't want to, but he wouldn't be able to protect them forever... And this was just something they needed to do.

"Matilda, they'll need costumes..." Pop ordered.

"Already on it, pop..." the young woman called Matilda said, fingers working furiously as she sewed...

"Everyone please take your seats!" a voice boomed over the loudspeaker.

"Bye Tati. Enjoy the show!" Scarlet said. Her eyes showed fear and excitement, and Bruce forced himself to wave as he pulled himself away from his children, having to go and take his seat...

* * *

"You ready?" Dick asked as he stood with Scarlet. Matilda had managed to make them costumes similar to the old ones and surprisingly good given the lack of time- green leggings and red leotards, with yellow capes...

"Ready... Do you think they'd want us to do this, Dickey?" Scarlet asked, a tear rolling down her face.

"I know they would, Scarlet- the show must go on." Dick said, wiping away the tear off her. "Now- we're on. Wait for my cue."

Scarlet nodded, and each child scurried to the base of the platforms, scampering nimbly up the ladders...

"And now... the flying Graysons!" Pop Haly announced. Scarlet easily swung out, flipping to Dick, who tossed her back to her own trapeze... Soon the ecstasy of the performance replaced the fear of falling, and Scarlet moved on to double and triple backflips, Dick flipping to her a few times as well...

"Dick is only nine years old, and Scarlet six! These siblings have been raised in the circus, folks- flying is in their blood!"

Scarlet dismounted her trapeze, letting Dick have the entire spotlight to himself. He literally flew, until he gave her her cue and she twisted through the air towards him...

They both had five seconds back on the platform while they prepared for the grand finale, and Dick looked down with disgust and realized there was a NET below them.

"Hotcha li!" (Burn it!) he yelled down to Pop Haly, who obeyed without question. The fire-eatter ignited the net, and they both swung out over it...

Everyone gasped and Bruce felt his heart begin to pound. He knew they were flawless, but what if they fell...?

Scarlet did a double flip to Dick, the glow from the fire reflecting on her face with the pure joy that was etched into her features, along with Dick's... They ENJOYED freaking people out like this...

She flipped back to her trapeze, hanging upside down, hands ready, waiting for Dick to do the best move of the night...

"There it is, folks! The quadruple-flip, that's only ever been preformed by GRAYSONS!" the crowd burst out cheering, and they both went back to their platforms, knowing their act was over and they'd done it...

"Tati!" Scarlet grinned and ran to her father with Dick, who held them both tightly for a moment...

"That was wonderful." he said, and he looked up to see their eyes shining. "I'm so proud of you..."

In truth, he was glad to have them both alive, but he was proud, too...

"For a few minutes, it was almost like we were... home..." Dick murmured. Just then a camera flashed. "Mr. Wayne! Why would you put them in such danger?" a reporter asked. And then a wave a paparazzi descended on them.

"No comment." Bruce said, and Scarlet lifted up her arms, allowing him to pick her up as she clung to his side like a little koala bear, head on his shoulder... Before they were even off the grounds, she was asleep.

Bruce looked at them again. He'd laid Scarlet on the couch and Dick had chosen his favorite armchair to curl up in... Tonight he'd seen something amazing. It was the same stubborn determination they'd always had, the light that was always in their eyes... but tonight it was multiplied by ten until it was an inferno, as hot as the burning nets they'd flown over...

Flying was in there blood, and Bruce knew then that nothing made them happier- though fighting crime was probably the second thing they loved most, they had been born and raised in a gypsy circus, and they craved the rush, the danger- of performing.

And it scared him out of his mind to know that they craved doing death-defying stunts, that there was no net- but he knew it was the way it was, in the circus, and when they were fighting crimes in Gotham. He couldn't always protect them. But luckily, they were flying Grayson- even if they were still training- and they were used to flying without a net.


	37. Having a Meeting

**Okay, I just got back from my cabin (I downloaded yj episodes so I could watch them and not die from withdrawl) and I'm inspired! I got this chapter here done, I wanted some Scarlet/Dick/Bruce action. I'm thinking about the second bird and boy, do I have some plans for that...**

"How long will you be gone for, Tati?" Scarlet asked as she looked up from her coloring book, blue eyes showing some degree of worry... Alfred had to visit a sick relative, so Bruce had taken them to work with him after school...

"It shouldn't be more than an hour, birdie. Ad I'll be right across the hall in the meeting room... You can come get me if you need anything..."

"Okay." Scarlet went back to coloring, and Bruce found himself looking over his shoulder one last time. He knew she wouldn't be six forever. But being the owner of Wayne Tech had to be a mantle taken up by a Wayne...

Dick was sitting at his father's desk, playing with all the ink stamps, and Bruce had to smile. It was days like these where he'd give up everything just to be their father... But he had to attend the meeting, so he went, hoping it'd be kept short and sweet...

Three hours into a heated debate about how health insurance for employees should be carried out with the resource manager, Bruce realized he'd made a grave miscalculation...

"And how do you think employees would react to suddenly having their family taken off health benefits? These aren't just workers, they're people, and if you fail to realize that, Chris, then maybe I made a mistake by making you resource manager." Bruce said, business side taking over. He wished he could just step into his office for a minute to be sure his kids were alright. It's been quite, too quiet for them, and he was afraid they were both unconscious or dead, since they'd been so QUIET...

"And so thirty percent more profits are just THROWN AWAY, Mr. Wayne!?" Chris said, looking angry.

"I think you've forgotten who you're talking to. Who made you the owner of Wayne Tech?" A small voice asked from the doorway, and everyone chuckled when they saw Dick leaning against the doorframe.

"Thanks, Dick, but I can handle this." Bruce said, smiling at his son as Chris's mouth opened and closed like a fish...

"Don't you know any respect, kid!?" Chris asked, staring at Dick, eyes still wide.

"Oh, I do, sir. I find it ironic you're asking me that as you yell and scream at your boss who's far too polite to throw you out..." Dick said, and grinned as everyone n the room chuckled.

"Do you need something, Dick?" Bruce asked, though he was smiling.

"No. Just thought I'd drop by..." Dick said, backing away, and a secretary chuckled. "He's so cute..."

"Yes, he's quite unique... So, we're NOT slashing health benefits for Wayne Tech employees. Any other questions, or should we move on to the next detail?"

In Bruce's office, Scarlet was practicing her Bat-hacking skills Bruce had taught her on his laptop.

"You told that mean guy to quit yelling at Tati?" She asked, looking up from the screen.

"Sure did. Now that you're into the mainframe, you should screw around a bit since the hard part's over." Dick said, sitting down to teach her the next lesson in Bat-hacking 101.  
_

"Now, if you'll look at this comprehensive cart of gross earnings vs time spent in company maintenance, you'll find it satisfactory..." the employee said, turning to the electronic white board. To there surprise, a Bat-symbol popped up instead of the presentation chart.

"Sir, I honestly have no idea how..."

"It's alright, Jean. Dick, are you hacking company systems again?" Bruce called across the hall.

"No- that's Scarlet, Dad, I'm just supervising." Dick called back.

Bruce looked unfazed. "Alright, undo it. I'm trying to watch a presentation."

"Oh. Sorry about that." Scarlet called, and a moment later the presentation popped on-screen.

Dan, the IT specialist, looked impressed. "I have to talk to those kids..."  
_

"Dickey, I'm bored." Scarlet said, once they had already had rubber-band war, paper air plane throwing contest, stamped all the official company seals on pictures of seals, and un-bent al the paper clips.

"So am I. It's part of being a business man..." Dick said, and Scarlet yawned. She'd wait a half-hour more, if she could...  
_

"And that is why I believe that Wayne Tech should get into apps." Bruce nodded, pretending to be impressed. Why the heck did he need an hourlong presentation to tell him what could be summed up in that one sentence?

"I can agree with that..." Bruce said, as Scarlet trudged into the room. She looked fine, but only Bruce could see she was hiding how tired she was, and she silently crawled into his lap, curling up against his chest...

Everyone stared at the cute kid for a moment, and Bruce had to snap them out of it by nodding. "Alright, so who's next?"

And so the remaining hour of the meeting was conducted with Scarlet asleep on Bruce's lap. It didn't bother the billionaire at all, in fact, he liked it... It was nice to actually have her to steal glances at now and then, while the others all seemed slightly shocked he'd allow a child to not just stay, but SLEEP in his lap... But Bruce wouldn't have it any other way. Still, he was glad when the meeting was over and he was allowed to leave- because even though he didn't mind having his kids at work with him, he liked them best when they could all go and be normal- at home.


	38. Father's Day

**Okay, in the story it's now June, almost a year since Bruce adopted them- and- FATHER's DAY! I threw in Wally and Roy b/c I need sme bro/sis fluff bonding. REVIEW!**

"Hey guys... you know it's father's day, right?" Robin asked. As usual, they were at the watch tower while there mentors were in meetings...

Roy dropped the arrow he'd been working on and swore, and Sparrow giggled.

"Robin, he said the word..."

"Don't repeat that." Roy ordered, flushing bright red.

"We grew up in a circus, Roy, it's fine- we know every cuss word." Robin said. "Now, what are we going to do for them?"

"It can't be something lame." Roy said decidedly. "Nothing dorky like ties and crap..."

"What about muffins?" Wally asked from where he was jamming gummy bears into his mouth.

"Yeah! Muffins are good for every occasion!" Sparrow said, grinning.

Roy nodded. "Alright, but we have to MAKE it, we can't just go buy it..."

"We need muffin mix." Robin said decidedly.

"This means shopping!" Sparrow grinned. "Can we go to Wal-mart, Roy?"

"Get changed, everyone. We're going shopping." Roy announced. With everyone busy in a meeting, it was easy for Roy to input the coordinates for Star City, and they stumbled out of the phone booth, walking past numerous homeless men before heading to Walmart.

"So, what kid of muffin mix do we want?" Roy asked, studying the display of it carefully. "Raisin muffins?"

"No! Raisins look like turds!" Wally said, and an old lady gave them a stern look and promptly pushed her cart away.

"Wally, be normal for once!" Roy scolded. "Bran, maybe?"

"No. Bran is... natures broom..." Dick said.

Roy rolled his eyes. "Lemon poppy seed?" he asked.

"Nope! Poppy seeds make you test positive for drugs." Scarlet informed him.

"I don't even want to know how you know that." Roy sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Blue berry?"

"Nope. Blue berries explode and make the muffins look like smurf barf..."

"Must we be so particular!? They are just friggin muffins!" Roy exploded, finally loosing his cool. Everyone in the aisle stared, and Wally looked over to the right and grinned.

"Tolite paper fight!" he yelled, grabbing a few rolls off the tolite paper display. The fight ended when Dick decided to try throwing a twelve pack of bounty and the manager threatened to throw them out.

"Look- give us five minutes, okay?" Roy asked, and the manager grudgingly obliged.

"Now, how about banana nut muffins?" Roy asked.

"No! Bananas are evil!" Scarlet yelped.

Roy sighed. "Fine! What muffins do you want, then!?"

"Chocolate chip." Dick said.

"You couldn't have just said that in the first place?" Roy sighed, grabbing a box of chocolate chip muffin mix before deciding they'd probably burn it, and grabbing five more boxes.

"Now everyone hold still!" Roy ordered, before he went through the express checkout line.

"Okay, come on..." they all filed out like good little soldiers before running back the the phone booth to the watch tower.

"These instructions are in Spanish." Wally said, looking confused as he tried to read the back of the box.

"You're holding it upside down, you idiot." Roy said, looking at the box.

"These directions are way too open ended..." Robin said, shaking his head. "See, it says add eggs, water, and oil. It never says not to add bacon or anything..."

"Because no one in his right mind would put BACON in MUFFINS." Roy sighed. "Okay, now then..." he poured the muffin mix into a bowl and added water, eggs, and oil. He didn't realize that Robin had read the directions to the letter, as Batman had taught him to, and had given him motor oil from the hangar...  
"Okay. Bake at three fifty for ten minutes or until golden brown. We're good." Roy grinned.

"Um... Roy..." Robin pointed behind him, and Roy looked into the oven to see the muffins on fire.

"Get the fire extinguisher!" Roy yelled, as he pulled out the flaming pan with oven mitts. Robin quickly hacked into the computers and disabled the smoke alarms so they wouldn't be found out...

"Got it!" Sparrow ran in, dragging the fire extinguisher behind her, and sprayed...

"Okay, okay..." Roy sighed, as he washed the fire extinguisher foam from the pan. He noticed the can on the table and swore. "Motor oil!? We don't cook with MOTOR OIL, Robin!"

"It said oil! The most common form of oil used is motor oil!" Robin said defensively, as Wally scrubbed the ground free of foam.

"You know what, forget it. THIS is why I bought six packages of muffin mix." Roy said triumphantly, grabbing the next box of muffin mix. He rummaged around in the cupboards for awhile until he came up with cooking oil, before he finished the batter and put the pan in the oven...

"This should work..." Roy grinned. It was then he noticed the baking soda on the table.

"Who put baking soda in the muffins!?" Roy demanded.

"Not me!" Robin said defensively.

All eyes turned to Wally, except for Sparrow's, because she, unbeknownst to anyone, wanted to take a peek at the muffins...

"It was an experiment, okay!?" Wally admitted. "My Uncle IS a scientist, after all..."

"Experiment when it isn't father's day!" Robin said.

Sparrow opened the oven to stare at the muffins, which looked odd... Was the batter... bubbling? Suddenly the batter exploded, hot batter flying everywhere, some of it landing on Sparrow's face...

She yelped and Roy whirled to find the dough explosion and Sparrow covered in dough and swore.

"Get me some wet towels, now!" he ordered Wally and Dick, as he grabbed Sparrow.

"Burns! Roy, get it off!" Sparrow pleaded, and Roy scrambled to scrape the scalding dough off her cheek and arms...

Dick and Wally raced back in with wet cloths, and Roy saw the stove was still spitting batter.

"Dick, get the pan out of the oven! Wally, clean up the floor!" Roy ordered as he carefully sponged the hot batter off her face and arms...

"Does it hurt?" Roy asked, feeling apprehensive as he saw the shiny red skin that was burned.

She nodded, but didn't whimper or cry. She'd been trained too well for that, after the immediate source of pain was taken care of, and she allowed Roy to look at her burns.

"Shoot..." Roy muttered. "Okay, we're going to the med bay..."

"No! We haven't made the muffins yet." Sparrow said, a spark of defiance showing.

Roy had to grin. This kid had guts.

"Okay, fine, but we only try ONCE more..."

Wally was finishing cleaning up the floor, and Dick was already busy washing off the pan. "And NO ONE touches ANYTHING this time..."

BREAK

"It's simple, Clark. Either the aliens give up their weapons peacefully, or we go ahead and take them from them." Batman said calmly.

Just then there was a knock on the door, followed by Sparrow's voice. "Special delivery." she chirped.

Superman had to chuckle slightly. It was a mystery as to how someone so cold like Bruce could have two little rays of sunshine...

"Come on in." he said, and the four children proudly entered...

"Happy father's day..." Sparrow said, setting a perfect looking muffin in front of Batman with Robin beside her.

"Yeah. You're not my dad, Uncle Barry, but I still made you a muffin!" Wally grinned.

"Um... here..." Roy blushed, seeing his own muffin in front of Oliver.

"Roy, you didn't have to..." Oliver started.

"Well I was the only one who knew how to use the oven..." Roy said lamely, looking away. His gaze darted over once, however, and he was relieved to see Oliver appeared to like it...

"And you four... made these?" Martain Manhunter asked, not familiar with the Earth traditions like Father's day...

"Sure did. I have the burns to prove it!" Sparrow said, and Batman looked at his daughter questioningly.

"Mental burns, she means!" Robin threw in quickly, not wanting to get in trouble for anything...

"Yeah... mental!" Sparrow said quickly, flashing her father a smile that made his heart melt...

"Alright. Thanks, you guys..." Oliver said.

Batman said something in Romani to his children, who both smiled slightly brighter before leaving, Wally and Roy quickly going with them...

"Now, as for the treaty, I say no nuclear weapons allowed, or else we airstrike their nuclear reactor..." Batman said, and the league was once again shocked by how... odd... the bat trio was.


	39. Another Incident

**Okay, sorry I didn't update this sooner, but, as you can see, the second bird is having major updates, but I felt I needed another misadventure, and today I realized how awful mouthwash tastes, so here it is! Please review! :)**

"I can't believe they left us here again." Roy sad sighing. "I mean, is the monster attacking the it apple really THAT important?"

"Batman said we're supposed to go to bed." Robin pointed out as they sat in the watch tower.

"Yeah. Right, I'm not a babysitter. I won't bathe anyone or anything, so go jump in the pool and then change into your pj's." Roy ordered.

"Sweet!" Wally was running off towards the pool with Sparrow on his back, and all three children jumped int the water, splashing one another for a bit before heading to there mentor's rooms. There were pajamas there, and they all emerged to find Roy in the main room, feeling proud of himself for being so creative.

"Now what, Roy?" Sparrow asked, looking excited.

"Go get your tooth brushes and follow me." Roy ordered. He led them t the bathroom off Green Arrow's room and gave them each a little tooth paste.

"Ack. You got the boring flavor." Sparrow said. "My toothpaste has glitter in it."

"It's not glitter, kid, or you'd be puking up sparkles." Roy assured her.

"Then what is it?" Sparrow asked, and Roy stopped dead. "I don't know. But it isn't glitter. Now brush."

The three children all spit, and Roy handed them each a red solo cup full of mouthwash. "You know the drill..."

To his horror, Sparrow DRANK it, and he gawked...

"You aren't supposed to DRINK IT!" he cried.

Sparrow coughed. "Now you tell me. It tastes horrible..."

Wally stared from where he was reading the mouthwash bottle.

"This has fluoride in it. It could kill her!" Wally said.

"What!?" Roy snatched the bottle from Wally and stared, trying not to hyperventilate.

"No one move! I have to call poison control!" Roy whipped out his cell phone, panicking slightly...

"Press one for immediate help." The mechanical voice said. Roy stabbed the one button, feeling his heart racing.

"Please hold."

Roy paced back and forth, panicking...

"Hello, my name is Charles, poision control attendant. What's your situation?"

"Um... my sister just drank mouthwash." Roy said.

"How much?"

"A solo cup full." Roy said, and there was a pregnant pause.

"Kid, did you dare her to or something?"

"No I didn't dare her to! She doesn't know how to use mouthwash, apparently..."

"I guess not. You should've made sure she knew how... How old is she?"

"I don't appreciate you criticising me, Charles." Roy said. "And she's six."

"What kind of six year old doesn't know how to use mouthwash? Gee, your sister has some problems... You sure she's not retarded or depressed or something?"

"Now you look here, CHARLES, you are being a major butthead. My sister is a little weird, but she is NOT crazy or suicidal or retarded, and I don't appreciate your criticism..."

"And who puts mouthwash in a solo cup?"

"I hope your house burns down, Charles." Roy said, severely pissed, before he hung up.

"Did you just tell someone you hope their house burns down?" Dick asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Do as I say, not as I do." Roy grumbled, before sighing. "Okay, poison control is useless, so plan B. We're going to the ER."

"Roy... my stomach hurts." Sparrow said, looking pained.

"Well yeah, you just drank mouthwash. Okay, everyone, shoes on, we're going to the ER..."

"But I don't wanna..." Wally said. He was tired...

"Wally, Scarlet could die. This isn't up for debate. Now come on."

Everyone quickly obeyed, except for Sparrow, who was still doubled over, clutching her stomach. Roy's face creased with concern slightly.

"Want me to carry you, Sparrow?"

"Uhhhuh. It hurts... Roy... I'm sorry I drank it." She said, curling against Roy's chest.

"It's alright- you didn't know." Roy said calmly. "Okay, we'll zeta to Star and go to the hospital... Everyone hold hands. It's a big city." Roy ordered, shifting Sparrow to one arm and Taking Wally's hand, and Wally took Dick's...

They stumbled out in Star City, and Roy lead he dreary procession to the ER...

Roy went to the front desk, nodding to the secretary. "Hi. Can I get some help here?"

"What's wrong?" the nurse asked, looking over the counter at him.

"Um... my sister drank mouthwash." Roy said.

"I'm sorry, but we can't treat anyone until we ahve a signature if someone who's over eighteen..."

"What? She could be dying..."

"No exceptions, kid,"

"Well this sucks." Roy muttered, before gently letting go of Dick's hand. He made his move then, running past the secretary and into the hospital with Scarlet...

"Help! I need help! Little girl dying here!" a nurse and doctor were instantly beside him.

"What's wrong?" The doctor asked.

"My sister drank mouthwash."

"Kid, I told you we can't help you unless you have an adult with you!" the secretary was approaching them, looking ticked off...

Roy set Sparrow down, turning to face the secretary. "My sister just drank mouthwash with fluoride in it, she could be dying- our parents are busy, and I won't let her die." Roy said, getting protective.

"Roy..." Sparrow looked pale, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"She should be fine, son..." The doctor tried to reassure Roy...

"Kid, out in the waiting room until your parents get here." The secretary demanded. "Now."

"Roy..." Sparrow said quietly, tugging urgently on her brother's sleeve.

"Not now, kid. No, not until I know my sister isn't going to die from poisoning..."

"R-" Sparrow gagged before proceeding to puke all over the ER floor and on the nasty secretary's shoes.

"Oh crap..." Roy muttered. Sparrow finished puking, wiping her mouth on her sleeve and looking a bit better...

"Hey Roy, I feel better now..." Sparrow said.

The secretary's hands were clenched into fists, her knuckles were white, face red, and Roy knew enough to know she was going to explode any minute now...

Wordlessly, he grabbed Sparrow and ran back into the waiting room, grabbing Dick and Wally's hands and running off into the night...

Roy didn't stop running until they were back in the watch tower, setting all three kids down on the couch...

"Okay, your stomach feels better now?" Roy asked, and Sparrow nodded eagerly. Roy saw the color was coming back into her face and sighed with relief.

"Okay- all of this NEVER happened, okay. NEVER." Roy said.

"What did happen back in the ER?" Dick asked.

"Sparrow puked all over... Look, no one got hurt, everyone's fine, and I helped you guys get ready for bed. Now, let's go to bed." Roy ordered, sitting on the couch.

To his surprise, Sparrow crawled onto his lap and Dick and Wally snuggled against him, and within an hour, they were all asleep. Roy sighed. It was never simple with these three, but he realized, as he, too, drifted off, that he wouldn't have it any other way...  
_

Batman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Superman, and Hawkman all entered the watchtower to find the kids asleep in a heap on the couch...

"I'm surprised- he actually did it." Batman said, crossing his arms and smiling slightly at the sight before them.

"I can't believe how responsible he is..." Oliver said, grinning, proud.

"I guess... Glad everything's honkey dory here." Superman said, smiling.

Batman rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Boyscout."


	40. Meet Catwoman

**Okay, I've got a plan for the second bird and it kinda involves Selina, so I though it'd be fun to introduce her here. Please review, and ENJOY! :)**

"Robin!" Batman yelled, and his protege ducked, barely avoiding the Scarecrow's scythe... Why had he elected to bring Robin along? The boy was in real danger, here...

Sparrow gasped from where she'd been hiding in he shadows. Yes, she'd snuck along, determined not to be left behind, but the Scarecrow was really... scary.

"Looks like the bird's fallen from the nest..." Sparrow whirled to see what appeared to be glowing green eyes in the night...

"Catwoman. Are you here to hurt my Tati?" Sparrow asked, fingering a birdarang.

"No. I've been tailing you, little bird- after all, cats LOVE birds."

Sparrow gasped. "You'll never take me alive!" she said, but watching her father and brother fight Scarecrow had scared her, and she still wasn't sure whether or not she should fight Catwoman. Bruce loved Selina, and he never hurt Catwoman, but she was a villain...

Catwoman laughed. "Ah, you have Bruce's guts, too. I've seen you at the galas. Little Scarlet Grayson. I won't force you to come, but we'll have a good time..."

Sparrow hesitated. She'd met Selina, seen her with Bruce, and she was nice, but still...

"After they finish Scarecrow, I'll come. Gotta make sure Tati doesn't do something g  
crazy." Sparrow explained.

Catwoman smiled. "You and me both, birdie. You and me both."

And so they watched until Scarecrow was taken care of before Sparrow followed Catwoman along, who led her to an apartment. They crawled into the window.

"Ditch the cape and digs." Catwoman said, tossing a glanced at Sparrow. "I figured I'd bring you here sooner or later. There's some clothes in the guest bedroom..."

Sparrow nodded, entering and finding a white t-shirt and jeans in her size laid out on the bed.

She emerged to find Selina in a pair of grey sweat pants and a red t-shirt with a frilly collar.

"You can keep the combat boots, I guess." Selina said, nodding to the boots she'd kept on from he costume. "Now come on..."

She hailed a taxi and they both slid into the back. "Gotham City Mall, please." Selina said, and the taxi driver pulled away...

"Why are you doing this?" Scarlet asked, still ill at ease. She wasn't sure what to think of Selina yet...

"Because I love Bruce. And Bruce loves you. So I suppose if I ever marry him, you're part of the deal... No offence, of course. That, and I doubt he can properly raise a daughter."

"I think he can raise me..." Scarlet said, looking at Selina. "So, what do you think of me so far?" she asked mischievously.

Selina matched her grin with one of her own. "I think you're cautious- but being a billionaire's daughter, I suppose you have to be. But judging by that grin- you'e a girl who knows how to have fun. And from what I've read about you, you know how kick some butt. You have potential, kid."

"Glad you think so." Scarlet said, smiling slightly.

They reached the mall and Selina paid the driver before they entered. "Now, problem number one I have with Bruce. He never takes you shopping. Your wardrobe consists of old t-shirts and jeans. And why, you ask? Because he's scared. Scared of the girl's clothing section."

They entered JC Penny's and Selina nodded to her. "Go crazy, kid. Anything you want, it's yours."

Scarlet grinned, running over to the boy's clothing section. Selina sighed. "That's not what I meant, kid. GIRL clothes. Sure, it's nice wearing baggy shorts once and awhile, but that's at home. I want you to have some semblance of being a girl, even though being too girly is wimpy. Women are dominant, after all."

Scarlet grinned. "I'm beginning to like you, Selina." she said. Selina returned her warm smile with one of her own.

"What's not to like?"

Within ten minutes, Scarlet had picked out a few funny t-shirts, a some practical route 66 jeans, and a blue Aeropostale hoodie.

Selina nodded in approval, and Scarlet looked around. "That's pretty much it..."

"No, it isn't." Selina led her over to where the packs of underwear were hanging. "I know Bruce is WAY too chicken to buy you... well, you know. I'd recommend something that isn't lacy- lace really itches..."

Scarlet stared at the display for a good minute before choosing a pair of Batman boxers, and Selina had to chuckle. "Alright, I can live with that..."

"Are we going to leave now?"

Selina grinned. "Oh no. We're just getting started. Maurice, I'm going to need the works..." she said, walking over to the cosmetics counter. "We have a new student."

By the end of the half hour course, she was curling her eyelashes, penciling them, using mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, and had practically mastered lipstick...

"She's a natural." Maurice said, grinning.

"I hoped she would be." Selina said, grinning, and Scarlet felt something similar to the feeling when her mamica had first praised her on the trapeze fluttering within her. No. Selina wasn't her mother. Selina never would be her mother... Or would she? Maybe...

"Maurice, get her everything I usually get." Selina said, and Scarlet felt even more pride swell within her...

"And finally, shoes. Every girl needs at least three pair. Walking, running, and sexy. You choose."

Scarlet nodded. She picked out a pair of wonder woman high tops, some plain white sneakers, and a pair of black, shining fashion boots with a one inch heel...

"There we go." Selina grinned. "That is how you shop." and they checked out.

They headed down through the mall, past the fountains and photo booths and kiosks, to the food court...

"Where do you want to eat?" Selina asked, setting down the bags. Scarlet had been carrying the bag of shoes with her, and she set it down, looking around the place...

"Hot Pretzel Joe's?" she suggested. Selina smiled. "Alright. Next time we go out, I'll teach you about the finer things..."

Just then a mousy looking man of about twenty-five strode up. Scarlet had been watching him preen himself for the last five minutes and eye Selina...

"Babe, do you have a map? Cause I'm lost in your eyes." he said, smiling feebly.

Selina shot Scarlet a grin, and she knew she should pay attention. She was obviously going to learn something great here...

"You know, that shirt looks great on you." the man tried again.

Selina took a sip from her drink. "Really? You know what else looks good on me? My boyfriend."

"Oh... Um... bye..." and the man scurried away. Scarlet giggled and Selina looked at her, amused. "See? Would Bruce ever teach you that?"

Scarlet shook her head. Today had turned out to be an awesome night, but it was past one in the morning, and she was tired...

"I guess it'd be bed time, then..." Selina grinned as she looked over to see Scarlet asleep, head on the table. She shifted the girl into one arm and the shopping bags into the other before heading out.

Bruce Wayne paced the floor of Wayne manor, anxious. "Alfred, are you sure she snuck along in the trunk?" Bruce asked. His mind was reeling- he'd already searched the trunk and come up empty, but still, why would Sparrow have left the scene if she'd tagged along?

"Quite sure, Master Bruce. You know how she dislikes being left behind." Alfred said.

"But where would she go? Her tracking device is offline, I have no idea how she even managed that..."

"Perhaps because she left her belt-radio with the hidden tracking chip here and turned off, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, holding it up.

"Dang it, she's good. When will she realize she's just a little kid? She shouldn't be sneaking off like this..."

There was a knock at the door upstairs, and Bruce sprinted to answer it, pulling open the door, praying he'd find...

"Selina?"

"I brought your daughter home, Bruce." Selina said calmly, walking past him, into the manor, and setting Scarlet on the couch.

Bruce looked at every inch of Scarlet from where he was, before he was sure his daughter was simply asleep, and relaxed slightly... until he saw Selina's smug expression.

"You kidnapped my daughter?" he asked. He didn't want to yell at Selina, but did she know how worried he'd been?

"Not kidnapped. More like saved. The Joker and Two-Face are out on the streets, I found her watching your fight in Dredger's Alley. Figured I might as well get her before someone else did, she was so wrapped up in making sure you won..."

"She was stalking me, wasn't she?" Bruce asked, looking down at his daughter for a minute.

"She was making sure you didn't need back up." Selina said.

"So how'd you manage to drag her away?"

Selina smiled. "I didn't. She came with me after she saw you had it under control and we had a night out on the town..."

"I can see that. And she just... let you take her?"

"Heck no. I told her we'd have a good time and that you liked me and she must've been pretty curious about me, since she went with me. Anyways, I bought her some things, since you'd never set foot in the girl's clothing section..."

"I get the picture." Bruce said, looking a this daughter solemnly...

"Bruce. Don't tell me you're going to punish her for this. She only snuck out to make sure you were alright..."

"She disobeyed orders, Selina. If you hadn't been there, who knows who'd have nabbed her? Not to mention she made sure to ditch her tracking device..."

"What do you expect, Bruce? You're the one who trained her." Selina stood, heading to leave. "At most, punish her for disobeying orders. But not for going with me."

"Selina, wait. You have cats, you're Catwoman... know any good vets?"

Selina cocked an eyebrow. "Of course I do. Why?"

"I'm getting her microchipped."

Selina rolled her eyes. "I doubt vets do that for children, Bruce."

"Right, I'll probably have to google it..."

Selina sighed. "You are a hopeless father sometimes, you know that?" she said, and Bruce looked genuinely hurt for a moment. She stepped closer. "But you're lucky you have such loving kids..." she said quietly, before she planted a long, slow kiss on his lips and was gone.


	41. The Tooth

**Okay, I've been wanting to have Scarlet loose her first tooth for while now, and I looked up different cultural beliefs on loosing teeth. I figure the Graysons adopted the French traditioj of the tooth mouse, since in my story, they're on tour in France for mostof the time they were alive, along with Russia and some of Europe. Though they also participate in the russian tradition of throwing the tooth in the home the Russian tooth mouse will find it and once participate in the Gypsy tradition of burnng the tooth to keep people from using it for magic, though Dick's father mentions the tooth mouse and it's clear he wants his children to predominantly believe tha**t**. Wow, these notes have been getting long. But please enjoy and review! :)**

"Eat up, Scarlet." Bruce said. He noticed his daughter had hardly touched her food...

"I'm not very hungry, Tati." Scarlet said calmly. "Can I be done?"

"Scarlet, you didn't eat anything but the mashed potatoes." Bruce said, looking skeptical. "You sure you're feeling alright?"

"Fine." Scarlet tensed up slightly at what he was insinuating. Bruce studied her fr a moment longer, noticing she'd paled slightly, before nodding. "Fine. But I want you t eat a good breakfast tomorrow..."

But she'd already run upstairs...

Bruce sighed. "I wonder what's gotten into her."

Dick shrugged. "Whatever it is, Bruce, she didn't tell me." he assured them.

"Brush your teeth, Scarlet, and I'll come tuck you in." Bruce called upstairs.

"Okay, Tati." Scarlet crept into the bathroom, dreading the process of brushing her teeth... She yipped slightly as the brush made contact with her teeth and grated against her teeth, and she jumped back...

Of course, Bruce heard it. "You alright up there, Scarlet?" Bruce asked.

"Fine, Tati!" Scarlet said, trying to keep her cool as she hurriedly brushed despite the pain, biting back the pained noises and only whimpering slightly, before spitting hurriedly spit into the sink...

She could hear Bruce mounting the stairs, probably coming to make sure she was alright, and she stared at the normally white toothpaste, surprised to see it red and her tooth brush bloody...

"Scarlet?" Bruce asked, and Scarlet quickly washed the bloody mess down the drain, hiding her bloody tooth brush behind her back...

"Scarlet, are you okay?" Bruce asked, looking concerned. He could've sworn he'd heard her yelp in pain...

"Fine, Tati." Scarlet said. Bruce didn't look convinced, and she flashed him a smile, remembering to hide her slightly bloody teeth with her lips... Even eatting dinner had hurt, which was why she'd only eatten mashed potatoes...

"Tati, I have to go to the bathroom..." Scarlet said, and Bruce nodded, allowing her to close the door and going to wait for her in her bedroom. Scarlet stood on the little aqua stool Bruce had bought for her and stared in the mirror, smiling and grimacing as she looked at her bloody mouth, scrubbing away at the blood with her hand before flushing the tolite, ran the water in the sink, and then walked out to bed...

"Goodnight, Scarlet."

"G'night, Tati." Scarlet said, allowing Bruce to tuck the covers in around her and turn off the lights, before leaving her alone... Ugg. She could taste the blood in her mouth, bitter and metallic, but there was NO way she was telling Bruce her mouth hurt. Then he'd take her back to the awful dentist... (remember chapter 12, people) She grabbed a tissue from her nightstand, pressing it to the loose tooth and ending up soaking it with blood before grabbing another tissue and finally stopping the blood... She was scared. Very scared.

Dick's teeth had fallen out, of course, she'd seen it, especially while they'd traveled through France and Russia with the circus. And the little mouse in france had come at night and taken the tooth from under the pillow, replacing it with coins... In Russia they'd throw the tooth away in the hopes the little mouse from France would find it and give them a new one... And when they were settled down with other gypsies and Dick lost a tooth, an old gypsy had insisted they burn it, so it wouldn't be used in magic, since gypsy belief stated things like human teeth could be used in black magic...

She remembered how sad Dick had been to see his baby tooth burned away, but their father had placed a hand on Dick's shoulder, promising him that the little tooth mouse would be able to find it in the ashes...

But that wasn't what she was worried about. She was worried that if her tooth fell out, Bruce would make her go to the dentist to get it put back in or something, because he'd said the dentist was good at fixing teeth, and she hated the dentist...

She fell into a worry-filled sleep... She was up early in the morning, when she clenched her jaw in her sleep and choked on some blood. She sighed, grabbing another tissue and staunching the blood with it. Maybe it would be good if the tooth DID fall out, and maybe she could hide it from Bruce...

Either way, she was hungry. The mashed potatoes from last night had left her hungry, and she went downstairs, wondering if she could heat some left over potatoes up before Bruce got up so she wasn't questioned about her meal choice...

Bruce heard her get up, though. It was before dawn, and it was after the fourth of July, summer break, so he wondered what she'd be wanting this early...

Bruce strode out of his room- he'd done patrol last night with Dick, since Scarlet had willingly gone to bed, and he noticed something disturbing in her room...

Three blood covered tissues sat on the nightstand, not just spotted, but literally still damp with the blood, his baby's blood, he realized with horror. He was hurrying after his daughter a moment later, feeling his heard in his throat...

"Scarlet!" he wanted to demand where the blood came from, if she wasn't still bleeding and possibly able to cry out for help...

Bruce's yell startled Scarlet, who was at the top of the stairs, and she jumped back like a cat, ending up tumbling down the stairs...

"Scarlet!" Bruce yelled, running to the banister, now totally freaked out...

Scarlet ended up sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, and she spit her tooth onto the rug, along with some blood, startled and upset now that Bruce would see the gap in her teeth and take her to the dentist...

"Scarlet!" Bruce ran downstairs in his grey sweatpants and sleeveless t-shirt, feeling utterly helpless since he'd seen her fall...

"Alfred!" Bruce called, moving to kneel beside Scarlet. "What hurts, birdie, what hurts?"

"M-my mouth..." Sparrow said, and Bruce slowly sat her up, hands expertly feeling for broken bones and checking for a concussion...

"Open up for me." Bruce ordered, as Alfred rushed into the room. "Alfred, I need a first aid kit." Bruce said, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbing at the blood that dripped from her nose and mouth. For once he was glad for the posh society rule that insisted upon always having a handkerchief...

"Looks like you lost a tooth, Scarlet..." Bruce said, finding the small baby tooth in the rug. Scarlet cried even harder. Bruce was probably going to drag her to the awful desntist again...

"What's wrong, birdie?" Bruce asked, feeling fearful still.

"My... my tooth's gone. You're gonna take me to the awful dentist to get it fixed!" Scarlet cried, burying her head in her father's chest.

Bruce looked utterly confused as Alfred entered with a first aid kit.

"Might I ask why you believe you will be going to the dentist, Master Scarlet?" Alfred asked, seeing Bruce was utterly clueless.

"C-cuz Bruce said the dentist fixes teeth... and mine's gone..." Scarlet hiccuped.

Bruce's eyes lit up with recognition.

"Scarlet, no, you don't have to go to the dentist. Those teeth are supposed to fall out, a new one grows, it's normal... Didn't Dick's teeth fall out?"

"Yeah, but Mamica and Tati never took us to the dentist. I figured it you took us to the dentist for no reason, you'd definitely take us for a missing tooth..." Scarlet said, sniffing.

"Scarlet?" Dick asked, bleary eyed fro, upstairs.

"Hey Dickie, my tooth fell out!" Scarlet said, suddenly excited.

"Really? So the tooth mouse is coming tonight, then?" Dick asked, and Bruce stared.

Dick's eyes pleaded for him to play along, so he did. "Right, the tooth mouse..."

"Sweet! And now I can actually eat! I can't wait until the tooth mouse comes! I'll go put it under my pillow!" Scarlet said, and as soon as she was out of earshot, Bruce shot Dick a desperate look.

"The tooth mouse is the French version of the tooth fairy- they believe a little mouse leaves coins in exchange for your tooth under your pillow." Dick said. "We were on tour in France when I lost most of my teeth, and sometime in Europe and Russia... She believes it."

"So, I have to be the tooth MOUSE?" Bruce asked, shocked. He hadn't even considered having to be the tooth fairy for Scarlet, let alone the tooth MOUSE.

Dick nodded. "Well, yeah. She's six, she still believes in those things, Bruce..." Dick said. Bruce nodded, still slightly shocked. What had he gotten himself into?

n**ext chapter, Bruce plays tooth mouse! LOL! :)**


	42. The Tooth Mouse

**Okay, here it is. Please review!**

Bruce wasn't a fairy or a mouse, he realized, as he entered Scarlet's room that night. He had a ten dollar bill clutched tightly in his right hand and was trying to be quiet. Dick had aided him in telling hm what his parents had done, but it'd been much simpler, because in their train car, they all slept in one cozy bed together.

He remembered the conversation he'd had with Dick a few minutes before in the kitchen.

"So, I just sneak in, take the tooth, leave the money, and sneak out, right?" he asked.

"Yes. But you have to be careful. Scarlet's light sleeper." Dick had warned him, and Bruce felt slightly apprehensive.

"Can't you do this, Dick? I mean, you're smaller, quieter..."

"No. What if she caught me, Bruce, she'd never trust me again. If I said was helping the tooth mouse, she wouldn't believe me. But if she wakes up on you, you can say you were checking to see if the tooth mouse came or that the tooth mouse is friends with Batman or smething and just give her the money." Dick said, and Bruce sighed. He hated to admit it, but he was NERVOUS.

His daughter's belief in magic was in his hands, and he'd never been a tooth fairy before.

"Hmmm..." Scarlet muttered in her sleep, and Bruce froze. He was Batman, He should be able to use his stealth to get the tooth and deposite the mone no problem. But he'd taught Scarlet to listen to the slightest sounds, the littlest disturbances, and in the room that was so princess-themed, with stupid princess dolls that she made do stunts and stuff laying on the floor, it was like walking through a minefield.

In retrospect, the princess themed room was SO not Scarlet. But he could worry about that later.

He reached the side of her bed and slid his hand cautiously under the pillow, groping in the darkness for a moment untl e found it nd sliding the ten under the pillow... He was oretty good a this, he realized, ans he smiled, and took a step towards the door... Right onto the talking barbie doll.

"Believe in yourself." it chirped. Scarlet stirred, and Bruce ran for it, all confidence evaporated He stubbed his toe on the dresser, but made it out of the room as barbie continued talking, making it out before Scarlet woke up...

He found Dick waiting outside, looking anxious. "You did it?" he whispered worriedly.

"Yes. How many more teeth des the kid have to lose?"


	43. The Vault

**Okay, this is a prelude to some MAJOR WALLY, ROY, DICK, AND SCARLET BONDING! WOO! If you like it, review! If you hate it, review! If you hate it when turtles get hit by cars, review! Man, I really need to sleep more...**

"Sparrow?" Roy called, looking around the watch tower, confused.

Sparrow had walked through the open door to the vault in the watch tower, and was staring at all the piles of different currency. Roy noticed the open door to the vault and sighed- of course, the excited six year old would go through an open door that wasn't really open...

"Hey Sparrow." Roy said calmly, entering behind her. Sparrow smiled. "Look at all the pretty money, Roy! This is the kind of money Tati had while we were in France..."

"Sparrow? You in here?" Wally asked, and Robin and he entered behind him...

"Robin! Look, there's the money from Russia Tati used..." Sparrow said. Robin nodded and grinned, picking up some money with an odd design on it. "Yeah. This one's from China, you were just born, you probably don't remember it..."

"No, but I remember Greenland..." Sparrow said, grinning as she set some foreign money back in it's place. The League could have to go to any country, they always kept at least ten thousand dollars of every currency in the watch tower...

"The ice and snow. What about Scotland?" Robin asked, curious to how much she'd remember...

"So much green rolling hills..."

"Russia?" Robin asked, curious.

"It was so cold..." Sparrow said, and Robin smiled slightly, remembering...

Sparrow was in the train car, along with the rest of the Graysons. Instead of separate bunks, they had a large, queen size bed that folded down from the wall, but it wasn't bedtime, so the Graysons instead sat on the bench of the one side of there compartment... The normally warm train was cold, freezing cold, the cold seemed to seep into the car, icy fingers clawing at them...

Sparrow looked the worst, though, slightly pale and shivering fiercely, since she was the smallest. "Cold, birdie?" John asked, smiling gently as he wrapped her in a wool blanket and pulled her into his lap. "It's clear Sparrows aren't a snowbird..."

"Am too..." Sparrow, said pouting. She wanted to prove to her father she was tough enough to be a Grayson and travel the world...

"John, don't tease her..." Mary said, though she was smiling. Dick watched the exchange from where his mother had him wrapped in her shawl with him... He was comfortable, feeling at just the right temperature and near his mother, who was warm and smelled perpetually like lavender...

"Oh, she knows I'm just kidding..." John said, planting a kiss on her forehead. Sparrow, to her credit, had stopped shaking like a leaf and now nuzzled into John Grayson's warm, strong chest... Dick smiled from where he sat with his mother. He remembered the times when he'd slept like that, feeling warm and safe against his father, but Sparrow seemed to have taken a liking to his father's lap to sleep on, so he instead nuzzled against his mother... He was deliciously warm, now, from his head to his toes, and he smiled, nuzzling happily against his mother...

Robin's memory was interrupted by the slam of a door. Flash had walked by and noticed someone left the door to the vault open and promptly closed it...

"Oh crap." Roy said.

"Let us out! Let us out! I'm claustrophobic!" Wally yelled, banging on the door.

"Wally, we're in a room, not a flat rate shipping box." Robin said, and no one came to the door.

"I Dn't care! We're trapped! We can't get out! WE CAN'T GET OUT!" Wally said, and Sparrow fell to the floor laughing.

"What's funny? We're stuck in a vault!" Roy said, less calm than he'd wanted to appear.

"Wally's- Wally's afraid- of Santa Clause..." Sparrow said.

Roy sighed, "I'm not even going to TRY to correct that incredibly overused misconception..." Roy said, sighing.

"I'll call Batman. He can get us out." Robin said, grinning.

Batman was, like always, in a meeting when his comm beeped. He sighed, answering. "Robin, what is it?" he asked. This had better be good...

"We're locked in the vault." Robin said calmly.

"We?"

"Wally, Roy, Sparrow- the whole shebang. Wally's having a panic attack, he's afraid of Santa Claus, apparently, and Roy's getting grumpy... Mind getting us out?"

Batman stared for a minute, trying to make sense of what his son had just said. "Fine. I'll be over in a minute." Batman said firmly. He was surprised to see the rest of the leaguers follow him, including an anxious Flash and Green Arrow...  
"I didn't mean to shut them in, I just saw the door was open. They must've been inside..." Flash said, loosing several shades of color.

"The walls are closing in! We're going to die!" Wally yelled.

"Oh crap. Wally! Wally, listen to me! You'll be fine!" Flash yelled through the vault door, trying to calm his nephew...

"Wally! Santa isn't here, it's okay!" Sparrow yelled, and Wally stopped screaming for a moment and stared. "Santa?"

"Yeah, Santa. He's not here." Roy said, glad Wally had finally stopped his ear piecing scream.

"Bummer. Did I have a panic attack?" Wally asked.

"Yes." Everyone said, and Wally sighed. "Oh. That happens sometimes..."

"I need you to listen to me, kids." Superman said. "This vault is on a time lock. It can only be opened after twelve hours have elapsed since the last time it was opened... Kids? You alright?" Superman hadn't meant to frighten them, and he silence stretched for an entire minute...

"Who's dumb idea was that?" Sparrow asked finally, breaking the silence.

"It was my 'dumb idea', as you call it." Batman said, not at all pleased that the kids would be stuck in the vault for the next twelve hours.

"Gee, thanks Dad." Robin said sarcastically.

"I told you not t wander into strange places." Batman said.

"Look, I saw pretty colors and wanted to get a closer look!" Sparrow said.

"Wait wait wait, you mean we're stuck in here for TWELVE WHOLE HOURS?" Roy asked.

The silence on the other end was all the answer he needed, and he gulped.

"And Sparrow's never sat still for more than one at most, unless she's asleep or unconscious..." Roy muttered...

"Wooo! Party!" Sparrow said, grinning and jumping onto a pile of money. "We can take a money bath!"

"No! All the currency is organized..." Superman said, but he stopped ehen he heard a crash as a stack of money fell over and bills fluttering.

"It's raining money!" Wally said, grinning.

"Money angels!" Robin said, jumping in. Roy sighed. It was going to be a long twelve hours.


	44. Hours 0-5

**Okay, here's the next chapter. I've got the end if this scenario already planned, it's just a matter of hours for them, now. REVIEW!**

MINUTE 0 TO 59

"Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety nine bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around- ninety eight bottles of beer on the wall!"

Hawkman sighed- he really hated this song.

"Hey, just be glad they didn't decide to rip money." Superman said calmly.

Batman sighed, as well. "Let's hope they don't sing the whole time..."

"Ninety six bottles of beer on the wall, ninety six bottles of beer!"

Green Arrow sighed. "Think we can just... walk away, and come back in twelve hours?"

"No. They might get hurt or something, you can't just leave small children in a vault..." Batman said.

"I am not a child! I'm a teenager!" Roy yelled, before he rejoined them. They were are ninety four bottles of beer, now.

"Right..." Oliver mumbled. It was going to be a LONG twelve hours.

They sang all the way down to -11 bottles of beer, until Wally mentioned that having negative beer would mean that someone was probably puking the beer back up, which grossed them all out into silence.

HOURS 1-2  
Silence. All the leaguers had forgotten the sweet reprieve of wonderful, blessed silence...

"Oh my gosh- they're quiet! They must be dead!" Flash yelled, clawing at the vault door frantically."I'm going to vibrate myself through!"

"What's the point? You'll just have to vibrate back out, you can't vibrate their molecules with you..." Hawkwoman said.

"Wow. You were right, they really did freak out at sudden silence." Wally whispered. Roy nodded serenely from where was sitting, knees pulled back against his chest, in the back of the vault. He put a finger to his lips...

He wondered how freaked out they could get the leaguers by being out of sight, behind the vault doors, in the back of the safe, behind the currency, and most of all, being silent.

"Kids? You alright in there?" Superman asked, feeling panic rise within him. It showed in his voice. The kids all grinned and pressed there hands to their mouths to contained the giggles of laughter at there freaked out mentors...

"Very funny, Roy. I know you're just doing this to freak us out. It won't work." Oliver said.

The kids all looked shocked, but Roy shook his head, still motioning for them to remain silent.

When the silence broke the five minute mark, the leaguers really began to worry. Then there was a crash as Wally accidentally knocked over a pile of currency, and they all stared, wide eyed...

"What was that!?" Batman demanded, though he, too, sounded concerned.

Oliver simply gawked, looking incredibly worried.

"Areyouguysokay!? Say something, say something, please!" Flash yelled, frantic, and they burst out laughing.

"Okay, that was SO not funny! We thought you were dead!" Oliver said, kicking the door of the vault to show his frustration. The kids simply laughed even harder. They'd fallen into the pile of money, clutching their aching sides from laughter...

Oliver sighed, though he smiled slightly, as did Batman... It was good to hear their laughter after the silence...

"I'm BORED!" Wally said finally.

"Money fight!" Robin said, tossing a handful of the mixed bills at Wally.

"Money tornado!" Wally yelled, running in a circle until the money swirled around them from the wind he was making, except for a few pallets of bundled, stacked currency to the right...

"Cool! It's like a rainbow of awesomeness!" Sparrow said, grinning.

"Ahh!" Roy's pained scream seemed to echo. "Paper cut, paper cut! Wally, stop!"

"That's what you get for going sleeveless." Robin said as Wally stopped running. Roy clutched his wounded arm and shot Robin an annoyed glare.

"IIIIIIIIIIII KNOW A SONG THAT GETS ON EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERYBODY'S NERVES! I KNOW A SONG THAT GETS ON EVERYBODY'S NERVES! AND THIS IS HOW IT GOES!" Sparrow said. Instantly, Wally joined her in repeating the song, and eventually Robin joined in, and finally, Roy, who was shaking his head and grinning...

"WE KNOW A SONG THAT GETS ON EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERYBODY'S NERVES, EVERYBODY'S NERVES!" they chorused.

"Oh Hera, they're SINGING AGAIN." Wonder Woman said, face palming.

"Just roll with it." Flash said, sighing. "Just roll with it."

HOURS 3-4

"How long have we been in here?" Robin asked. He was starting to get really, really antsy.

"Three hours. You've got nine more." Batman said.

There was a sigh from behind the door, then Sparrow's bright voice. "Hey guys! I made a paper airplane out of money! See?"

Followed by Roy's, "Ow! My eye!"

"That wasn't supposed to happen..." Sparrow said, sounding apologetic.

"I'm getting tired if getting hurt by you guys..." Roy grumbled.

"Let's make a paper airplane airforce!" Wally yelled, and instantly there was the sound of dollar bills creasing and paper rustling...

"I call the russian money! Soviet Vrussia vill rule!" Wally yelled.

To which Sparrow replied something in Russian, totally freaking Wally out.

"W-what did you just say?" he demanded.

Sparrow laughed, and Robin replied with something equally as Russian.

"Oh my gosh, Barry, HELP! They're Russian spies!" Wally yelled.

"We are not. We just speak Russian." Sparrow said, tossing a plane from the paper airplane airforce. Roy looked slightly surprised.

"You two are fluent?"

"Well, yeah. We spent a year touring it, and then we crossed through the border like six times on our way back to France and Europe, so we picked it up..."  
"Where have you guys been?" Wally asked, looking interested.

"A better question is where HAVEN'T we been. Russia, France, Europe, Canada, USA, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Greenland, Germany..."

"Cuba!" Sparrow added.

"We weren't SUPPOSED to be in cuba, but, yeah, we got separated in the airport and took the wrong plane..." Robin said, and Roy stared.

"How old were you?"

"Well, I was six and Sparrow was three, so we couldn't really figure out which flight to get on once the crowd separated the circus crew..." Robin said calmly.

"I think I remember that. Didn't we end up in that ghetto motel for the night?" Sparrow asked.

"Yeah, we did, until the whole circus flew back in the next day. The Cuban authorities had no idea where we went, though, but they had one of the wolves they used in the acts track us down..."

"No way. You're lying." Wally said, crossing his arms.

"I'm not, you can google it. There was a huge press frenzy over it and they improved airport security measures and stuff after that." Robin said calmly. "And the circus never came back to Cuba..."

"Are you guys serious?" Flash asked, sounding shocked.

"You think I'd make something like this up? Google Graysons 2003." Robin said, and Batman chuckled, looking at the headlines that'd popped up on his wrist computer. "He's right."

"And the worst part is, we didn't even speak Spanish. And while we were walking to the motel, this shirtless dude comes running up to us screaming like a madman..." Robin said.

"Oh my gosh, what did you do?" Wally demanded.

"Well Sparrow freaked out and kicked him, he screamed something about being Penguino, and we ran. And THAT is why we hate Cuba." Robin said. "It's kinda funny in hindsight, but the motel we were in was old and abandoned, and we kept hearing gunshots all night, so it was kinda scary..."

"I didn't hear any gunshots." Sparrow said, looking confused.

"Because you fell asleep. I stayed up all night, making sure no one tried to come in... there was no lock on the door, and we were too small to move the bed in front of the door or anything..."

"They always were a magnet for trouble." Batman said in response to the shocked looks the leaguers were giving him. "Even before they were heroes."

HOURS 4-5

"I'm so BORED!" Wally yelled.

"Where'd Sparrow go?" Roy asked, looking around.

"Up here-ahhh!" Sparrow yelped as the large pile of currency she'd been standing on fell, and she face-planted on the ground with a crash...

"Sparrow!" Roy waded through the currency and turned her over...

"Oh my gosh, she's bleeding!" Wally yelled, staring at the blood that was on the currency...

"What's happening!? Sparrow, answer me!" Batman yelled, slightly frantic. A muffled sob sounded from inside the vault and Batman froze, feeling the terror and helplessness of a desperate father well up within him. His baby was hurt, trapped in a vault, and there was no way he could get to her...

"Robin, give me some of your cape to stop the bleeding..." Roy ordered, pulling Sparrow onto his lap. "Where'd you get hit, Sparrow?"

Sparrow spit in reply, and a tooth landed on the floor.

"Sweet! She lost a tooth!" Robin said, trying desperately to cheer up his obviously shaken sister as Roy held the bloody cape corner to her mouth.

"The tooth mouse will come now, right?" he asked, holding up the slightly bloody tooth, and Sparrow nodded hesitantly, still holding onto Roy...

"The tooth mouse?" Wally asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes! The little mouse that comes to take your teeth away!" Robin said, punching Wally in the air. The fierce expression on his face dared him to tell his sister the tooth mouse wasn't real, barred teeth showing he'd tear him limb from limb if he did...

"Oh! The tooth mouse!" Wally said, playing along as he rubbed his arm, though he was completely lost. "Yeah, the tooth mouse, I thought you said... tooth louse..." he said lamely.

"So did I. But, hey the tooth mouse will come, right?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, I guess..." Sparrow said, looking less pale than she had a moment ago.

"Wait. Is everyone alright?" Flash asked.

"And who's the tooth mouse?" Oliver asked, looking confused.

"Oliver doesn't know who the tooth mouse is because... because he's from Canada!" Robin said, thinking fast.

"Everyone's fine!" Roy called out.

Oliver stared. "I'm from Wash-" But Batman had slammed his gloved hand over Oliver's mouth.

"Sparrow was raised in France for awhile, where they believe a little mouse cane and took the teeth you lost. Now shut up." Batman hissed, fierce in Daddy Bats mode again.

"Ugg. My mout id all blooty," Sparrow lisped, and Roy had ti smile at her cuteness.

"It'll stop in a minute, birdie." He assured her.

"I bort." Sparrow muttered.

"What?" Flash asked.

"She said she's bored." Robin said.

"This means war! Thumb war, that is!" Wally yelled, and Sparrow giggled as they circled, ready to thumb-war. Roy watched the boy's theatrical performance, watching from where Sparrow was settled in his lap, and smiled wearily. Only seven hours to go.


	45. Stellaluna

**Okay, there's going to be some crying here because they've been trapped in the vault for hours, and they're just kids, so it's pretty realistic that someone is going to have a meltdown... or all of them, which pretty much will happen... But bear with me, trudt me, it gets totally cute at the end! I figure everyone knows about the children's book Stellaluna, and it's abiut a baby bat that gets lost and adopted by birds, so so I HAD to put it in! Review! :)**

HOURS 5-6

"My thumb! I think it's broken!" Wally yelled.

"What! I'm sorry, Wally, I didn't mean to... Lemme see..." Robin said, looking anxious. Wally socked Robin in the face, grinning. "Sucker!"

"Why you little..." Robin said, clutching his bloody nose...

"No hitting!" Roy yelled.

"Don't hit my brother!" Sparrow launched herself at Wally, sinking her teeth into his upper arm...

"Ah! Get her off, get her off!" Wally yelled, flailing.

"Sparrow, no biting!" Roy yelled, trying to pull her off Wally. "The kid's got a death grip!"

"Sparrow- stop." Batman said, and Sparrow released.

"Come on Tati, I didn't even go for the jugular..." Sparrow said, and Batman smiled slightly. So she had been listening when they watched documentaries on animals and how they fought...

"Even without that tooth, the kid still bites like heck." Roy said, and Sparrow gave him a gap-toothed grin.

"Okay, no more fighting, biting, or physical contact!" Barry yelled.

"But Roy said I could sit on his lap..." Sparrow said, sounding disappointed.

"Only if you don't bite anyone else." Roy said.

"Deal!" Sparrow said, jumping into her surrogate brother's lap. "Told you I was getting good at this bargaining stuff, Tati!" She called.

"You're not ready to negotiate hostage situations, regardless." Batman said, and some leaguers chuckled.

"Well she is pretty good at biting." Robin pointed out.

"Yeah, if she has any teeth left. At the rate they're all falling out, she might not have any." Roy pointed out.

HOURS 6-7  
"Wally, got any fives?" Robin asked.

"Yes." Wally grumbled, handing a five dollar bill from the small hand he held.

"Sparrow, got any twos? There aren't many two dollar bills, but..."

"I have no idea what any of these things say, how should I know?" Sparrow asked, throwing down some foreign money. "I never went to the Philippines..."

"Maybe we should all play with US currency." Roy suggested.

"No, there aren't enough denominations to make a full deck..." Robin sighed.

"So go fish is out, then." Wally said. "We could have another money fight..."

"That's just too boring..." Robin sighed.

"Quick- this is life or death- think of fruits starting with the letter A!" Sparrow yelled.

"Apricots!" Wally yelled.

"Avacados!" Roy added.

"Ashwagandah!" Robin put in, and everyone stared at him.

"What? We lived around the world, remember?"

"Ashwagandah is SO made up, Mr. Smarty-Pants!" Wally said.

"Is not! It's a little red-orange berry with ons of health-benefits!" Robin said.

"I never had any." Sparrow said.

"That's because you weren't born yet when we had them."

"Yeah, RIGHT." Roy said. And so the remainder of the hour was spent on arguing about the existence of Ashwagandah.

HOURS 7-8

"Hey, what the heck are these?" Sparrow asked, pulling out some pieces of paper.

"They look like negotiable stocks and bonds." Roy said, staring.

"What?" Sparrow asked, looking confused.

And the remainder of that hour was spent listening to Roy rattle off about what negotiable stocks and bonds were, how they worked, and how the heck he knew about this...

HOURS 8-9

Sparrow burst into tears.

"Sparrow, what's wrong?" Batman asked.

"Roy's been talking about negotiable stocks and bonds for an hour and a half, and I STILL don't get it!" she said, curling into a ball, knees to her chest, sobbing.

"You don't HAVE to get it, Sparrow, you're only six..." Batman tried to reason.

"But YOU get it, don't you?" Sparrow hiccuped, still crying.

"Yes, but that's because I'm a business man..."

"I wanna be a business man!" Sparrow cried, tears still falling.

"Sparrow, you're not a man..." Robin said.

And then Wally started to cry.

"Wally, what's wrong?" Barry asked, freaking out.

"I'm bored to tears!" Wally cried. The reality of it was, all the kids were exhausted, tired, and just wanted OUT of the vault...

"And I'm tired..." Robin admitted, sounding close to tears himself.

"Well now I feel bad. See Ollie? This is what you get for teaching me economics!" Roy said, feeling frustrated.

The three youngest were inconsolable then, crying their eyes out, though the leaguers tried desperately to comfort them...

"We're gonna die here! I'm hungry, Uncle Barry!" Wally wailed.

And they kept crying.

They tried everything, singing, cracking jokes, EVERYTHING, but after a half hour, they were still crying without an rest...

HOURS 9-10  
Once they hit the nine hour mark, Roy started to cry a bit, too.

"Roy? Why are YOU crying?" Oliver asked, slightly surprised. He'd never seen Roy cry before...

"Because... because real men cry, okay, Ollie!? And I am a REAL MAN!" Roy said, In truth, he was exhausted, hungry, stiff from being in the vault for so long, and had gotten a monster headache from all the crying...

Superman sighed. "It's clear they aren't going to cry themselves out anytime soon..."

"Well you can't really blame them. They're hungry and tired and scared in there. And they are just kids..." Superman pointed out.

"Yeah, but still, we should be able to do SOMETHING." Oliver said, looking annoyed. He turned to Batman. "You've been a father for the longest, what do we do!?"

Batman sighed. "It's a shot in the dark, but it might work..."  
_

"Stellaluna swooped about a tree, and the birds grasped a branch. Stellaluna hung from a limb above them." Batman said. He was almost finished.

"Do the voices, Tati, do the voices..." Robin said, but he was cut off by a huge yawn...

Batman sighed.

"'We're safe. I wish you could see in the dark, too.'" he squeaked, in his best Stellaluna impersonation. To his surprise, neither Roy, Wally, Sparrow, or Robin laughed at the Batman, who was currently reading Stellaluna to them AND doing the voices, they were too enraptured in the story.

"And we wish you could land on your feet!" Batman chirped, impersonating the birds in the story. "They perched in silence for a long time."

Inside the vault, the children had long-since fallen silent. Sparrow was leaning against Roy's chest, blinking sleepily from where they were all perched against a pile of currency. Roy and Robin were on either side of Roy, both leaning against him in a pile of pleasantly warm limbs, feeling actually safe as they were snuggled together.

"How can we be so different and feel so much alike?" Batman paused, changing to he voice of another bird. "And how can we feel so different and be so much alike?" he paused again. "I think this is quite a mystery." he said.

Inside the vault, all the children exchanged glances. Each was thinking the same thing. They were so different, but they did feel so alike, and though they felt different, they WERE alike a little. But they already knew the answer to the mystery. They were different in some ways, alike in others, but it didn't really matter to them, because they were a FAMILY.

"I agree. But we're friends, and that's a fact." Batman squeaked, being Stellaluna once again. But all the kids were already asleep.

"I think they're asleep." Hawkwoman said, listening, There was no sound, except for the breathing of four children when they strained to hear it...

"How did you know?" Wonder Woman asked, looking at Batman, surprised.

Batman shrugged, looking relaxed as he closed the Stellaluna book. "It's Sparrow's favourite, and though Robin doesn't say anything, I know he likes it too..."

Of course they loved it. Sparrow had come home from the school book fair with the now well-worn copy, intent on him reading it before she went to bed, and he'd complied, because honestly, he'd never seen the girl so excited about a book before.

And it was about bats and birds, and family, so of course he and Dick couldn't help but love it too... It was as though the author had known about the bat family as she wrote the book...

"You really read them stories?" Superman asked, looking shocked. He hadn't known much of the bat family's home life, but he found it hard to believe that Batman or Bruce Wayne would read his children bedtime stories.

"Like you said, Boy Scout- they're just kids." was all he said, before he tucked the book away.

12TH HOUR

The leaguers all entered the vault to fond an incredibly cute scene before them- Sparrow was snuggled against Roy's chest, With Robing nuzzled into Roy's side, and Wally had his head on Roy's shoulder from where he sat in the other side of the boy. They were all asleep, looking like angels...

Wonder Woman may or may not have snapped pictures before they moved the sleeping kids to their mentor's rooms.


End file.
